Dec 18, 2025
Jan Winhall is a psychotherapist, author, educator, and the
developer of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM), a
groundbreaking framework that integrates trauma therapy, polyvagal
theory, and embodied focusing to understand and treat addiction and
trauma. Over more than four decades of clinical work, Jan has
specialized in supporting survivors of sexual violence, complex
trauma, and addiction with a deeply de-pathologizing, feminist, and
body-based lens.
She is the founder of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Institute,
teaches internationally, and collaborates closely with leaders in
the polyvagal community to bring more compassionate, somatically
grounded approaches into trauma and addiction treatment.
In this powerful and deeply validating conversation, Clarissa
and Molly sit down with trauma and addiction therapist Jan Winhall,
creator of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM).
Jan weaves together feminist therapy, trauma theory, polyvagal
theory, and embodied practice to completely reframe how we
understand addictive behaviors like binging, purging, and
compulsive eating: not as “problems” or “defects,” but as adaptive
state-regulation strategies that the body uses to survive
overwhelming experiences.
Jan shares how early work with incest survivors revealed the harms
of pathologizing, top-down psychiatric approaches—and how safety,
dignity, and deep listening became the foundation for her model.
Together, we explore how nervous-system states, shame, trauma,
ADHD, and body image intersect with ultra-processed food addiction,
and how recovery becomes possible when we work with the body
instead of against it.
This episode is for clinicians, helpers, and anyone living with
food addiction who has ever wondered: “What if nothing about me is
broken—and my body has been trying to keep me alive all along?”
In This Episode, We Explore:
• Jan’s Origins in Trauma Work
o Running groups for young women who were incest survivors in
a small Ontario hospital
o Seeing firsthand the limitations and harm of traditional
psychiatric models
o How feminist therapy and the work of Judith Herman and
Sandra Butler helped de-pathologize survivors
• From “What’s Wrong With You?” to “What Happened to
You?”
o Why behaviors often labeled “manipulative” or
“attention-seeking” (e.g., binging, purging, self-harm) are
actually survival strategies
o Understanding these behaviors as ways to regulate
overwhelming nervous-system states, not moral failures
• The Felt Sense & Polyvagal Theory – Explained
Accessibly
o What “felt sense” really means (beyond just
“sensation”)
o How neuroception constantly scans for safety and danger
below conscious awareness
o The three main autonomic states:
Ventral vagal – safety, connection, social engagement
Sympathetic – fight/flight, agitation, urgency
Dorsal vagal – shutdown, collapse, numbness, shame
o How addictive behaviors help the body shift between these
states to survive
• Addiction as a Trauma Feedback Loop
o Why the body cannot stay in high sympathetic arousal or deep
shutdown forever
o How food, substances, sex, and other behaviors become
“jolts” that move us between states
o The idea of a “trauma feedback loop” where trauma,
dysregulation, and addiction constantly reinforce each other
• Working with Trauma Without “Fishing” for It
o Why Jan no longer goes “hunting” for trauma stories
o The importance of Phase 1 work: establishing safety before
uncovering trauma
o How to help people gently reconnect with the body (starting
at the edges: fingertips, earlobes, etc.) before approaching the
more overwhelming inner experiences
• Shame, Addiction, and Liberation
o Why shame is so central to trauma and addiction—and why Jan
actually loves working with it
o Reframing shame: “This is what bodies do under threat; you
are not uniquely broken.”
o How truly believing this (in our own bodies) changes how we
show up for clients
o Using groups, co-regulation, and shared stories to create
“moments of liberation”
• Food & Sex Addiction, Early Trauma, and Access
o Why food and sex are often the earliest available forms of
self-soothing for children in unsafe environments
o How early masturbation and secret eating can evolve into
entrenched patterns over decades
o The stigma that keeps men with food addiction silent and
unseen
• ADHD, Neurodivergence & Addiction
o How neurodivergent folks are especially vulnerable to
regulation difficulties and shame
o The clash between ADHD time perception and linear, “on-time”
culture
o The dopamine-driven ping-pong between shame (dorsal) and
activation (sympathetic), and how this sets up classic addictive
pathways
o The “neuroplastic paradox” – getting stuck in ruts, and how
intentional practice can build new pathways
• Body Image, Misogyny & Reclaiming the Body
o Why so many clients experience their body as “the
enemy”
o How misogyny, hyper-masculinity, and purity culture shape
body hatred and silence around food addiction
o The role of our own relationship with our bodies as
therapists and helpers—how we co-regulate clients through our
presence, not just our words
• Receiving Love & Positive Feedback as a Trigger
o Why compliments, affection, and warmth can feel more
threatening than criticism for many addicted bodies
o How to normalize this, slow it down, and help the nervous
system “update” that it is safe enough now
o Using group moments of discomfort as live material to work
with neuroception and triggers
• Self-Disclosure, Accessibility & Doing Our Own Work
o Why Jan believes safe, boundaried self-disclosure can create
powerful safety
o Steve Porges’ idea that “the greatest gift you can give is
your accessibility”
o Why clinicians must apply these models to their own lives
first, so that their belief in the body’s wisdom is genuine
• Changing the Addiction Treatment Paradigm
o The trauma of addiction treatment itself—shaming, punitive,
expensive models
o Jan’s commitment to bringing compassionate, somatic,
polyvagal-informed approaches into 12-step spaces and beyond
o The importance of connecting communities (like Sweet
Sobriety and FSPM) to shift the field together
The content of our show is educational only. It does
not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional
relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your
physician or other qualified mental health providers with any
questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use
disorder, or mental health concern.
