Nervous system regulation for individuals, businesses and organizations

I am Beverly Simmons, PhD, and I offer training to organizations who are motivated to deeply invest in their employees’ professional and personal development. I teach individual nervous system regulation skills and community co-regulation skills designed to benefit the health of the organization. I offer this at all employee skill levels.

If you are interested in my professional training offerings for your organization, please contact me directly to discuss your needs and my speaking fees.

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Beverly Simmons, PhD

I completed a PhD in Social Work from Smith College, an MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and hold licensure as a clinical social worker (LCSW) in NC. Over the last 20 years, I have developed a technique of reading and working with discrepancies between clients’ conscious (verbal expressions) and unconscious nervous systems (involuntary nervous system responses) based on the neuroscientific study of vertebrate animals, with a particular emphasis on mammals. While I Have studied connections between nervous systems and psychoanalytic thought throughout my career, this particular piece of neuroscience research has dramatically affected how I understand others and provide intervention to clients. I also have particular interest in how specific environments impact individual and group nervous system functioning. This work allows increased access to each client’s unconscious mind and external behavior/responsiveness, promoting a greater depth to desired change. Additionally, I use my platform to train other therapists and educate individuals and organizations to apply these methods to enhance functioning for themselves and those with whom they closely interact.

Regulation

Emotional regulation requires an optimal range of optimal nervous system arousal that is oriented to the present moment. This range of arousal is necessary to directly engage with the world in real time and a prerequisite to work, learn and effectively engage in consensual social interaction.

Why is regulation work important?

Getting to a place of optimal arousal (emotional regulation) is the foundation for prosocial behavior and a basic capacity to learn, work and socialize in healthy ways. Living in chronic states of heightened arousal (hyperarousal) or low arousal (hypoarousal) disrupts a person’s capacity to engage in a healthy life that is largely oriented to reality. The nerves involved in regulating our arousal levels affect every major organ system within our bodies. Excessive orientation to hyperaroused and/or hypoaroused states is not only related to how others evaluate us externally, but also is highly connected to our physical and mental health. Mood and anxiety disorders, impulse-control problems, addictions, compulsive behaviors, social impropriety, insomnia/sleep disorders, eating disorders, pain symptoms, inflammatory conditions and autoimmune disorders are all connected to living in a nervous system that is chronically exposed to disregulated states.

Further, in organizational dynamics, impaired emotional regulation thwarts decision-making capacity and work performance, injures collegial and team dynamics, creates stress and burnout unrelated to work tasks, injures professional reputations and can destroy client relationships. A well regulated nervous system that is calm, open, and responsive to the present moment is an absolute prerequisite for executive presence.

How do you regulate arousal levels?

Arousal regulation can take many forms that orient to one’s internal, relational and larger systemic/societal experience. It requires present awareness to expand one’s Window of Tolerance so that states of Hyperarousal (Fight/Flight) or Hypoarousal (Freeze/Faint/Fawn) are not dominant outside of imminent threat. I use a 3 phase plan in my individual, dyadic and group work to help clients find this state within themselves.

Phase 1

This phase involves helping each person increase awareness of their arousal levels. I use my nervous system to identify and regulate individual, dyadic and group nervous systems and to help people develop awareness of how their nervous system responds to this process.

Phase 2

This phase involves helping each client recognize and quickly implement specifically designed techniques to access their Window of Tolerance as quickly as possible whenever excessive, self-destructive hyperaroused or hypoaroused states are activated.

Phase 3

This phase involves recognition and reinforcement of a relaxed, growth orientation that is not overly punitive in any direction and allows life to be experienced largely with natural ease. Such an orientation not only provides security in oneself and relationships and optimal health outcomes, but also opens opportunities for greater generativity in the world as more nervous systems interact with each well regulated nervous system.

Professional Training