Imagining a Polyvagal and Trauma-Informed Elementary School Classroom: A Depth Psychological Approach

Abstract

This thesis explores how the neurophysiological insights of the polyvagal theory and the healing modality of trauma-informed care affect the learning environment of an elementary school classroom and impact the development of pre-adolescent children. Literature on the autonomic nervous system is presented and viewed through the perspective of the polyvagal theory in order to explore how a culture of safety can be created for elementary school-aged children so that healthy social engagement and self-regulation can be fostered within the classroom experience. This thesis asserts that developing an awareness of nervous system survival responses must be incorporated into explicit and implicit communication modalities used by educational institutions. In conjunction with pertinent scientific and clinical research, this project incorporates a depth psychological process of inquiry known as active imagination. Thus, a traditional hermeneutic methodology is expanded upon via a soulful alchemical hermeneutic approach to research.