92. Reading the Nervous System Through Facial Movement in Clinical Practice

Learning to improve assessment capacity is a continual journey for the practicing mental health practitioner. This episode provides a research article that endorses the clinician’s instincts and highlights ways that what is happening inside for our patient (i.e. nervous system activation, etc.) is displayed in facial movements.

Brenda then adds a discussion of interventions she uses, and offers them for listeners to consider for applications in their own practices.

References:

Additional podcast episodes on heart rate variability:

https://connection-therapy.com/playlist

Rachael Draaisma’s discussion about Calming Signals are in Connection Therapy episodes 48, 49, and 50

Optimal HRV

https://www.optimalhrv.com/

Stephen Porges (2011). Polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation.

Torres EB and Elsayed M (2026) Facial micro-movements as a proxy of increasingly erratic heart rate variability while experiencing pressure pain. Front. Neurosci. 20:1702124. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2026.1702124

Attend a Course at Connection Therapy:

https://connection-therapy.com/courses-and-events

We Want to Hear Your Feedback! Please Contribute to the Conversation: Share your thoughts on the podcast and how these concepts work in your practice, or ask a question and I’ll answer it in an upcoming episode: https://connection-therapy.com/contact-us

Leave feedback or ask a question with a message on Instagram: @theconnectiontherapypodcast

Enjoying the podcast?

There are now playlists for you to navigate to your favorite topics: https://connection-therapy.com/playlist