Distinguished University Scientist/Professor, Polyvagal Theory Neuroscientist and Action Trauma Network Ambassador

Stephen Porges

Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award.

He has published approximately 400 peer‐reviewed scientific papers across several disciplines that have been cited in more than 45,000 peer-reviewed papers. He holds several patents involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017), Polyvagal Safety: Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation (Norton, 2021), and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018).

He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol™, which currently is used by more than 2000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.

Professor, Clinical Psychologist, Lecturer and Therapist

Janina Fisher

Janina Fisher, Ph.D. is a Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation, a patron of the John Bowlby Centre, and a former instructor, Harvard Medical School.  An international expert on the treatment of trauma, she is co-author with Pat Ogden of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma (2015) and author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Self-Alienation (2017) and Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: a Workbook for Survivors and Therapists (2021).  She is best known for her work on integrating newer neurobiologically-informed interventions into traditional psychotherapy approaches.   More information can be found on her website: www.janinafisher.com.  

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Author

Dan Siegel

Dr. Siegel is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organisation, which offers online learning and in-person seminars that focus on how the development of mindsight in individuals, families and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes. Dr. Siegel has published extensively for the professional audience and has been utilised by a number of clinical and research organisations worldwide.

Psychiatry Professor, Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University of Canada, Director of the Clinical Research Program for PTSD

Ruth A. Lanius, M.D., Ph.D

Ruth A. Lanius, M.D., Ph.D. is a Psychiatry Professor and Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University of Canada, where she is the director of the Clinical Research Program for PTSD.
Ruth has over 25 years of clinical and research experience with trauma-related disorders. She established the Traumatic Stress Service at London Health Sciences Center, a program that specializes in the treatment of psychological trauma. Ruth has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Banting Award for Military Health Research. She has published
over 150 research articles and book chapters focusing on brain adaptations to psychological trauma and novel adjunct treatments for PTSD. Ruth regularly lectures on the topic of psychological trauma both nationally and internationally. Ruth has co-authored two books: The Effects of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic and Healing the Traumatized Self: Consciousness, Neuroscience, Treatment. Ruth is a passionate clinician scientist who endeavours to understand the first-person experience of traumatized individuals throughout treatment and how it relates to brain functioning.

Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project

Fritzi Horstman

Fritzi Horstman is the Founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project, an organization dedicated to creating trauma-informed prisons and communities. The first day Fritzi stepped inside a maximum security prison she realized it was actually a trauma center. She knew at that moment something needed to be done to change the system so she produced and directed the now viral video “Step Inside the Circle” with 235 incarcerated men addressing their Adverse Childhood Experiences. Currently, she is creating a 12-part video series about childhood trauma to be distributed to every prison across the U.S. and abroad. Fritzi has also produced HBO’s “The Defiant Ones” directed by Allen Hughes which has garnered several awards including a Grammy for Best Music Film. Her first feature, “Take A Number,” which she wrote, produced, and directed, debuted at the Slamdance festival and premiered on HBO. Fritzi studied at New York University’s summer film program and received a Bachelor of Arts in Film and English from Vassar College.

Clinician, Consultant, Founding member of Polyvagal Institute

Deb Dana

Deb Dana, LCSW is a clinician, consultant, and author who lectures internationally on ways in which Polyvagal Theory informs work with trauma survivors. 

She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, consultant to Khiron Clinics and advisor to Unyte – and developer of the signature Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series. Deb is well known for translating Polyvagal Theory into a language and application that is both understandable and accessible – for clinicians and curious people alike.  Her publications include The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation (Norton, 2018); Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client-Centered Practices (Norton, 2020); and Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory (Sounds True, 2021).

Deb can be contacted via her website. Click the link below.