1.2.0
Porges and His Family
This chapter and the next three introduce us to the “Polyvagal Community.” We start with the author of the Polyvagal Theory – Stephen W. Porges – with a brief presentation of his family. According to the diagram at the end of this chapter, we can see three circles of influence.
The first circle is the friends of the first hour: Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, and Pat Ogden.
The second circle is formed by well-known writers, such as Daniel J. Siegel, Allan Schore, Norman Doidge, and many more.
The third circle has diverse supporting groups: therapists, editors, trainers, and enthusiastic users. We added a diagram (see below) to facilitate comprehension of the whole system, including critics, visitors, and neutral experts.
1.2.1
Stephen W. Porges
I’m not a therapist, but I try to give hints.
Porges (2024, p. 220)
With a Ph.D. in Psychology from Michigan State University, Porges began his career as a researcher and professor at several universities.
In 2013, he joined the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Since then, he has been “leading research in Behavioral Neuroscience, emphasizing the relation between the autonomic nervous system and social behavior in normal and psychiatric populations. “He has special expertise in the quantification of physiological signals and in developing non-contact technologies to monitor physiological signals.” (See UNC website).
He has also been active at the Kinsey Institute (founded by Dr. Kinsey in 1947) as Director of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium, established to “address the life-changing affects and treatments around trauma.”
Stephen Porges is a kind and pleasant person. He is a gifted facilitator who speaks with great confidence. He is excellent at creating a network of supporters and partners. Furthermore, he is a family man.
The Internet has enough information about Porges to complete this short presentation.
First Steps
In Respiratory and Heart Rate Components of Attention (1969), Porges presents “the first study documenting the quantification of HRV as a reliable autonomic response indexing attention.” Early in his research, Porges had discovered Sokolov's work on the slowing of the heartbeat observed after any stimulus to attention — described as the attention reflex or orientation reflex. Sokolov had studied this process only in mammals — especially humans — and not in non-mammals (fish or non-vertebrates). Porges deduced that the orienting response (a brief heartbeat slowing) was a characteristic of mammals.
Later, in Orienting in a Defensive World, the question of the orienting response became central, as he attributed neurogenic bradycardia to the dorsal branch and HRV (heart rate variability) to the ventral branch of the parasympathetic. This would resolve the vagal paradox and prove the role of ventral vagal activity.
Behavioral medicine
As President of the Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM), Porges gave his presidential presentation in Atlanta in 1994, giving birth to the Polyvagal Theory. He guided the organization to advance behavioral medicine concepts and practices. Behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field that combines behavioral and biomedical sciences to understand and treat health-related behaviors and psychological factors that affect physical health. The clinical applications of behavioral medicine are numerous and may include various medical specialties, such as primary care, psychiatry, cardiology, oncology, and neurology.
His research on the autonomic nervous system and human behavior contributed to developing effective interventions and treatments in behavioral medicine. His presidency may have shaped the focus of the SBM on stress, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Is Porges a psychiatrist?
There is sometimes some confusion about his academic qualifications, as he is sometimes presented as a psychiatrist (Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory) (Wikipedia, during a certain period). Porges has a doctorate in psychology. According to his publications, Porges has neither a medical background nor clinical training. Therefore, he is formally not a professor of psychiatry but a professor in the UNC Department of Psychiatry. If Porges were a psychiatrist, he would have gone to medical school, which he didn't. He's neither a clinical psychologist nor a mental health professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, personality disorders, or trauma. Porges is a behavioral seeker. It's about currents, waves, and graphs. When he talks about psychotraumatology, Porges is moving outside his field of training and experience. His encounters with Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, and Bessel van der Kolk in the 70s and 90s brought him to the clinical dimension. Meanwhile, Porges has positioned himself as an expert in psychotraumatology, speaking extensively about the emotional experiences of victims. However, could some professionals argue that he is overstepping the bounds of his professional expertise?
1.2.2
Porges’ family
Family is important. As we start exploring the polyvagal world, knowing more about Porges' family is relevant. Not only does Porges seem to be a strong “family man,” but he has also been significantly influenced by the work of his wife, Sue Carter. But first, let's introduce his two sons:
Eric Porges
A neuroscientist, Eric Carter Porges, Ph.D., has written numerous articles, one with his mother, Sue Carter: Parenthood, Stress, and the Brain (Carter, 2011). He is presently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida, where he studies the vagus nerve. See also the 2022 article in the NY Times.
Seth Porges
A director, producer, journalist, and television commentator, Seth Porges has also presented a YouTube video on Nerd Nite: «The Polyvagal Theory: The New Science of Safety and Trauma.” Stephen and Seth Porges have recently co-authored Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us (2023). The book is dedicated to Sue Carter, «who gave us oxytocin.»
C. Sue Carter
Porges dedicated his first book, The Poyvagal Theory, to«Sue Carter, my wife, and intellectual partner.» She is an American biologist and behavioral neurobiologist. Wikipedia gives an extensive presentation of her curriculum. From 2014 to 2019, she served as Executive Director of the Kinsey Institute. According to Wikipedia, author and LGBT activist Dan Savage claimed the announcement of Carter's appointment as director of the Kinsey Institute was filled with bad news for anyone interested in sex research and/or conducting sex research. Savage criticized Carter's view that “I think human sexuality must be viewed in the context of relationships. » Savage wrote: “Not all human sexuality exists in the context of relationships. You can argue, if you're a moralist, that human sexuality should only be expressed in the context of a relationship. But that is a moral position, not a scientific one.”
While Carter has extensively and successfully explored the role of oxytocin in sexuality, she tends to leave out the less popular endorphins and cannabinoids. This may have influenced Porges' vision of mammalian sexuality, which describes how mammalian females frozen in coital immobility avoid traumatic consequences thanks to oxytocin–see The Role of Social Engagement in Attachment and Bonding: A Phylogenetic Perspective (Porges) in Attachment and Bonding: a new synthesis (Carter, 2005).
Porges and Carter co-authored several articles, with Carter as the first author (Carter, 1974, 2011, 2013).
>> to the next chapter: The First Polyvagal Circle