This is part 1 of 5 of the Polyvagal Schools series.
"The Path of Therapy" is a Deb Dana idea from her book, The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, specifically about the path for the client to therapy.
We should walk this path and notice cues of danger or safety, when it comes to students.
Or at least notice it on the drive to school
Or even ask our own kids or the students in our classes, what they experienced on the way to school.
This also includes in between classes and going home.
Why this is important:
There’s some stuff that the school has control over and doing the path of transition will give you some ideas on what you can do
Build empathy for your students
Learn about their day to day a little more
Safety
Students need to arrive in a safe place, be welcomed and go into a classroom of safe mammals (humans, ideally)
They have left their families, their herds, their tribes
They may have left safety or left danger
We have to make sure they’re arriving to safety
What is the environment your students are walking into? How are they greeted? How about by the CSMs? By front desk staff? By the principal? The teacher in the classroom? Other students?
The staff have to be in safe & social states
