When physiotherapists talk about practice, the focus is often on treatment plans, functional goals and outcomes. 

Yet beneath every clinical encounter lies something less visible but equally powerful: the nervous system of both patient and practitioner, says Dr Polly McGee. 

Dr Polly McGee

Polly will explore how trauma-responsive practice can help physiotherapists work more effectively with patients while sustaining their own wellbeing at the APA Tasmanian Summer Breakfast in Hobart on 28 November. 

Their keynote, ‘Leading practice with presence: trauma-responsive tools for physios’, is set to show how connection drives better outcomes for clinicians, patients and teams. 

‘Leading with presence means that before we bring our technical knowledge, we bring our whole selves into the room—regulated, attentive and connected. 

In physiotherapy, presence is about creating a relational space where the patient’s nervous system feels safe enough to engage in the healing process. 

That presence often does as much therapeutic work as the intervention itself.’ 

Polly, a neuro-leadership consultant, psychotherapist, author and co-CEO of Disruptive Consulting, has built a career at the intersection of neuroscience, psychotherapy and leadership. 

Their work centres on creating psychologically safe and productive cultures. 

‘In physiotherapy, if a patient is in distress or pain—there’s a relationship between the two systems—their nervous system is already heightened. 

The practitioner’s nervous system will unconsciously mirror that. 

If we can bring regulation into our own system, it helps the client’s system regulate too. Those systems speak to each other; that’s what they’re designed to do.’ 

This co-regulation can be the difference between a session that stalls and one that makes progress. ‘Imagine a patient who appears resistant or disengaged in their rehab exercises. 

Without a trauma lens, the physio might see this as noncompliance. 

But with nervous system understanding, the physio recognises that this could be a freeze response. 

Slowing down, breathing deeply and adjusting pace reopen the possibility of progress.’ 

Physiotherapists often work under high pressure, treating patients with complex needs, a load that can take a toll over time. 

Polly acknowledges the risks clinicians face. 

‘Physios are constantly exposed to stories of pain, injury and loss of function—it’s demanding work that can lead to vicarious stress. 

Trauma-responsive tools offer simple ways to regulate the nervous system in real time. 

They prevent compassion fatigue and allow clinicians to respond from clarity rather than reactivity.’ The implications go beyond patient care. 

‘As humans, we’re designed for stress and we’re designed to be in high-pressure environments but we’re not designed to be in those environments all the time. 

Our bodies become toxic very quickly because they don’t want to hold the amounts of adrenaline and cortisol we’re asking them to hold. 

Without strategies for regulation, burnout becomes a risk.’ 

Polly adds that physiotherapists are often operating from their sympathetic nervous system—the body’s stress response—rather than a calmer, reflective state. 

‘If both client and physio are heightened, tension escalates. 

What’s missed is the opportunity to slow down, reset and bring everyone back into regulation. 

When clinicians can steady their own system, it helps the patient do the same.’ 

As with all aspects of physiotherapy, the evidence matters and Polly stresses that the science behind trauma-responsive care is clear. 

‘We have rock-solid evidence for the connection with trauma and the nervous system and the way we somatically encode trauma from birth.’ 

Polly draws on decades of trauma science, referencing Dr Stephen Porges’ polyvagal theory, Dr Bessel van der Kolk’s research on trauma and the body, Dr Richard Schwartz’s internal family systems model, Dr Gabor Maté’s compassionate inquiry and Dr Peter Levine’s somatic experiencing. 

‘What surprises many clinicians is how directly the nervous system shapes relational safety. It’s not just what we say but our tone, facial expression and body posture that signal safety or threat.’ 

Coping, Polly argues, is not about toughening up. 

‘Resilience is the ability to notice when you’re shifting into a stress state and to bring yourself back to regulation.’ That shift can be cultivated through micro-practices. 

‘A single slow exhale reset before greeting the next patient. A 30-second pause to feel your feet on the floor after a difficult consult. 

A one word check-in with a colleague at the end of the day. These aren’t extras; they weave into the flow of practice.’ 

Over time, Polly says, these practices build new neural pathways and make regulation part of how clinicians naturally show up in their work. 

Attendees at the November breakfast will leave with practical tools for regulation and presence, a stronger understanding of how trauma shapes interactions and strategies to sustain their own practice.

‘It’s a wonderful opportunity to be in dialogue with physios about the body and the mind as a whole system. Sharing knowledge across disciplines makes us all better clinicians.’ 

Polly frames the top three takeaways from their keynote as regulation and resilience, learning to lead and being open to change. 

‘Regulation isn’t optional. It’s the bedrock of effective self-care and great leadership. 

Meanwhile, presence is a skill we can cultivate and it transforms patient outcomes. 

Trauma responsive tools are simple and practical and can fit into the busiest clinic day.’ 

Polly’s professional journey has spanned communications, fast-growth startups, innovation consulting and psychotherapy. 

‘I’m pathologically curious. Working in startups, I saw people thrive or crumble under pressure and I kept asking: what determines success? 

That question took me down a rabbit hole into trauma and neuroscience.’ 

Training with researcher and author Brené Brown, renowned globally for her work on shame, vulnerability and leadership, was pivotal. 

Brené’s teaching made it clear that people cannot step into vulnerability unless they feel safe in their nervous system, Polly recalls. 

‘From there I undertook formal psychotherapy qualifications and specialised in trauma. I wanted the tools to work safely with people and to get to the root cause rather than surface effects.’ 

Across consulting, psychotherapy and leadership, a common thread runs through Polly’s work—understanding how people relate and thrive in demanding environments. 

‘They’re all about the same thing: how humans function relationally under pressure and how we can unlock our best thinking and relating. 

My neuro-leadership work brings the science of brain and behaviour into organisations.

Psychotherapy gives me the lived experience of sitting with people’s pain and resilience. 

And leading a consulting business with other amazing humans lets me shape cultures where safety and performance go hand in hand.’ 

That breadth, they add, allows them to bring a holistic perspective to healthcare, one that bridges personal regulation and systemic change. 

Early experiences of high-pressure environments also shaped their focus. 

‘I worked in startups where burnout was normalised and I saw talented people crumble under chronic stress. 

Later, working directly with trauma survivors, I witnessed how safety in the therapeutic relationship could transform outcomes, even more than techniques alone. 

It became clear to me that what we as a culture predominantly experience is relational trauma from our early experiences, which translates to our adult relationships in our organisations and beyond. 

If we don’t integrate trauma-responsive practice into our workplaces, we miss the heart of what drives healing, performance and human connection.’ 

Polly believes that trauma-responsive practice will become as fundamental as infection control—‘not optional but an essential standard of care’. 

They imagine clinics where safety and regulation are built into the culture. 

‘If it was widely adopted, we’d see reduced burnout, better staff retention and patients who engage more fully in their own recovery. 

Ultimately, it could reshape healthcare into a more sustainable, human-centred system.’ 

For Polly, the motivation behind this work is simple. 

‘Just humans. We are neurobiologically hardwired for connection. People are endlessly fascinating. I’ll never get bored working with humans.’ 

That love of connection underpins their keynote message. ‘When we regulate ourselves, we create the conditions for trust and safety. 

That’s when the real work happens—for our patients, our teams and ourselves.’ 

The APA Tasmanian Summer Breakfast will be held on Friday 28 November in Hobart, Tasmania. Click here to register.