Families, litigants, lawyers, advisors embroiled in cases of complex divorce with child contact issues, manage many stressors at once. Participants involved with these types of cases are often exhausted and burned-out from the long-term battles of prolonged litigation. The inability to problem-solve or even communicate effectively reflects the chaos and traumatic stress of the experience and can be seen as a hallmark of this population. When people are consistently stressed, there is a breakdown of communication skills that can create an immunity to receiving help from any direction. Often all parties involved appear to be both hyper-alert to potential threat, and hyper-reactive to one another: no one feels safe. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory is premised on the idea that neuroception plays a key role in the nervous system’s ability to assess danger in the environment. Neuroception is a neurophysiological response that does not involve cognitive processing. When cognitive processing is not involved, the result may lead to misinterpretation of, and an inability to accurately assess situations: executive functioning including rational thinking and communication skills are lost to physiological response. Rather than evaluating families and individuals involved in the aforementioned complex divorce cases through the lens of pathology, Polyvagal Theory explains their behavior as an adaptive stress reaction. Utilizing Polyvagal Theory offers a promising path to treatment with these families and diminishing the poor communication and the heightened emotion, assisting practitioners in understanding the impact of neurobiological response in managing stress and trauma. Applying Polyvagal Theory to court involved populations can help both litigants and practitioners recognize the role of the autonomic nervous system, providing the opportunity to understand, to self-regulate, and to improve communication and decision making.

中文翻译：

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多迷走神经理论在高冲突共同抚养案例中的应用

家庭、诉讼当事人、律师、顾问因儿童接触问题卷入复杂的离婚案件，同时应对许多压力源。涉及此类案件的参与者往往因长期诉讼的长期斗争而筋疲力尽。无法解决问题甚至无法有效沟通，反映了经历的混乱和创伤性压力，可以看作是这一群体的标志。当人们持续承受压力时，沟通技巧就会崩溃，从而产生对接受任何方向帮助的免疫力。通常，所有相关方似乎都对潜在威胁高度警觉，并且彼此反应过度：没有人感到安全。Stephen Porges 的多迷走神经理论的前提是神经感受在神经系统评估环境危险的能力中起着关键作用。神经感受是一种不涉及认知处理的神经生理反应。当不涉及认知处理时，结果可能会导致对情况的误解和无法准确评估情况：包括理性思维和沟通技巧在内的执行功能会因生理反应而丧失。多迷走神经理论不是通过病理学的角度来评估涉及上述复杂离婚案件的家庭和个人，而是将他们的行为解释为一种适应性压力反应。利用多迷走神经理论为治疗这些家庭和减少沟通不畅和情绪高涨提供了一条有希望的途径，帮助从业者了解神经生物学反应在管理压力和创伤方面的影响。将多迷走神经理论应用于涉及法院的人群可以帮助诉讼当事人和从业者认识到自主神经系统的作用，提供理解、自我调节以及改善沟通和决策的机会。