Joining me is Dr. Stephen Porges, one of the most influential voices in modern neuroscience and the creator of Polyvagal Theory, the framework that has transformed how we understand safety, connection, and emotional regulation.

Together we explore:

- How Polyvagal Theory emerged and how it builds upon attachment theory to explain our biological need for safety and connection.

- The science behind our “gut feelings,” and how the body reflexively detects safety and threat in our environment.

- Why hypersensitivities can cause us to misread others’ intentions and what this reveals about our own physiological state.

- Why thinking in circular patterns rather than cause-and-effect can transform how we interpret behavior.

- Why so many parenting strategies fall flat when a child’s nervous system is in a defensive state, and practical ways to reshape these moments to be more effective.

- The hopeful truth that the nervous system is flexible and how “retuning” it can repair patterns of stress and disconnection.

Dr. Porges’s groundbreaking research offers a powerful new lens for understanding the human condition, revealing how our nervous system shapes behavior and influences the way we relate to our children, our partners, and ourselves. At its core, it’s a reminder that beneath all our words and actions lies a shared biological need to feel safe, seen, and connected.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY GUEST:

🔗 https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/

🔗 https://www.whatisthessp.com/

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

📚 Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us by Stephen W. Porges PhD and Seth Porges

🎧 Unlocking the power of polyvagal theory: Using the nervous system to wire our children for resilience with Seth Porges

👉 Click HERE for my workshop, Be the Calm in Your Child's Storm: How to Keep Your Cool When Your Child Loses Theirs, to get the exact therapeutic interventions I use with my patients that can change the way your brain and body interprets your child’s dysregulation to help you stay cool in the heat of the moment.

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

🎧 Parenting highly sensitive kids: Helping “Big Reactors” learn to regulate and manage their intense emotions with Claire Lerner

🎧 Teaching children emotion regulation skills through coregulation with Dana Rosenbloom

🎧 Using presence as the antidote to trauma: How we begin to break cycles with Dr. Jacob Ham

Beyond the Sessions is answering YOUR parenting questions! In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Hershberg, Dr. Emily Upshur, and I talk about...

- How to stay connected to your older children while caring for a baby in the NICU.

- Why consistency, rituals, and transitional objects can help kids feel secure when routines are disrupted.

- Creative ways to maintain a sense of closeness, even when you can’t physically be present.

- How to involve siblings in bonding with the new baby from afar.

- Why it’s okay to give yourself grace and lean on support systems during this stressful time.

If you’ve ever worried about balancing the needs of multiple children during a family crisis, this episode offers compassionate guidance and practical strategies to help your older kids feel loved, supported, and secure—even when life pulls you in different directions.

REFERENCES AND RELATED RESOURCES:

🎧NICU Survival Guide with the founders of NICU Nook, Dr. Stephanie Simon and Amanda Neilan

📚 Growing Families: Helping Children Cope with a New Sibling

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about how "mom brain" can be our greatest strength, not our biggest weakness with Dr. Nicole Pensak

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about processing birth trauma with Dr. Sterling

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about maternal health and Internal Family Systems with Rebecca Geshuri and Paige Bellenbaum

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU:

Go to https://drsarahbren.com/question to send us a question or a topic you want to hear us answer on Securely Attached - Beyond the Sessions!

In this episode, OT and interoception expert Kelly Mahler uncovers the 8th sense and dives into how interoception plays such a foundational role in children’s ability to regulate their bodies, emotions, and behaviors.

Together, we discuss:

- What interoception is and how it impacts everything from toileting and eating to emotional regulation and social connection.

- Why some kids struggle to notice or interpret their body’s signals and how this can show up as meltdowns, anxiety, or difficulties with attention.

- Practical, relational strategies parents can use at home to help kids strengthen interoceptive awareness through play, modeling, and curiosity.

- How occupational therapy can support children’s sensory and emotional development beyond (spoiler: it's more than improving just handwriting or fine motor skills).

If you’ve ever wondered why your child seems to go from 0 to 100 in seconds, or why calming strategies don’t always seem to “stick,” this conversation will give you new insights and tools to help your child build lifelong regulation skills from the inside out.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY GUEST:

🔗 https://www.kelly-mahler.com/

📚 The Interoception Curriculum

📱 Join the Interoception: The Eighth Sensory System Facebook Group

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

📱 @kelly_mahler

📱@drsarahbren

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

👉 Want games specifically designed for fostering emotion regulation? Go to drsarahbren.com/games to get my free guide packed with games you can play with kids of all ages!

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about emotion regulation during the middle years with Alyssa Blask Campbell

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about sensory sensitivity with The OT Butterfly Laura Petix

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about polyvagal theory with Seth Porges