Nervous System Ladder: Map Your States
An illustrated, polyvagal-informed worksheet for mapping a client's personal nervous-system ladder, including triggers, glimmers and ways back to safety, with a daily check-in.
2-page fillable PDF · US Letter (prints on A4) · Polyvagal-informed
- Approach / concern
- Somatic
- Technique
- Polyvagal-informed
- Format
- Fillable PDF, 2 pages (US Letter / A4)
- Access
- Pro and Advanced plans (3-day free trial)
- For
- Licensed clinicians to use with clients
- Updated
- October 2026
Key facts
What is the Nervous System Ladder: Map Your States?
Polyvagal theory, proposed by Stephen Porges, describes a hierarchy of autonomic states: ventral vagal (safety and social engagement), sympathetic (mobilization for fight or flight) and dorsal vagal (immobilization or shutdown). Deb Dana translated these ideas into the ‘ladder’ metaphor and mapping exercises that help clients recognize their own states.
Why it works
Mapping states gives clients a compassionate, body-based language for experiences that can otherwise feel confusing or shameful, such as going numb or feeling suddenly panicky. It supports self-regulation and co-regulation skills and fits well within trauma-informed and somatic approaches (Dana, 2018). While aspects of polyvagal theory continue to be debated in the research literature, the mapping exercise is widely used as a practical psychoeducation tool.
When to use it
- Trauma-informed therapy and stabilization
- Anxiety and panic
- Shutdown, numbness and low energy
- Clients who respond better to body-based than cognitive approaches
How to use it in session
- Introduce the three states with the ladder image.
- Ask the client for personal examples of each state.
- Identify triggers, glimmers and ways back up.
- Use the daily check-in for one to two weeks.
- Review patterns and build a personal regulation menu.
Clinician tips
- Normalize all three states as protective.
- Strategies for moving up from shutdown differ from those for calming mobilization.
- Notice glimmers in session: small moments of ease or connection.
Worked example
Sharing with clients
Members can download the PDF to print or email, or copy a private client link from the download box. Your client opens the link and downloads the worksheet on any device. No client account is needed, and nothing your client writes is stored on TherapyAid.
Frequently asked questions
Is polyvagal theory scientifically proven?
Parts of the theory are debated among researchers. Many clinicians still find the state-mapping framework useful for psychoeducation and self-awareness.
What is a glimmer?
A term used by Deb Dana for small, everyday cues of safety and connection, the opposite of a trigger.
References
Dana, D. (2018). The polyvagal theory in therapy: Engaging the rhythm of regulation. W. W. Norton.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton.
This worksheet is an educational tool for use by, or under the guidance of, a licensed or registered mental-health professional. It is not a diagnostic instrument or a substitute for clinical judgement. If a client is in crisis in Canada, call or text 9-8-8 or call 9-1-1.
