Your nervous system continuously interprets information from both your internal and external environment. It plays a central role in how you respond to stress, support rest and recovery, experience emotions, connect with others and navigate your everyday life.
Two people can experience similar symptoms but have very different nervous system patterns, capacities and levels of flexibility. Understanding these differences can provide valuable insight into your overall health and help identify where support may be most beneficial.
The assessment is not a fixed definition of who you are, nor is the goal to keep your nervous system calm all the time. A healthy nervous system needs to be able to respond to intensity, adapt to change, recover and move between different states with flexibility.
When capacity or flexibility is reduced, this is not a fault or something that is wrong with you. It simply means your nervous system may need to be met where it is, with the approach adapted to its current capacity.
The assessment provides the Forbes Clinic team with a personalised understanding of your current nervous system state, capacity for change and integration, embodied experience, stress responses and regulation patterns. This helps identify how your system is currently organising and what level, pace and type of intervention it is most
ready to engage with.
The Nervous System Assessment is a personalised clinical assessment designed to help understand the relationship between your nervous system state, flexibility, capacity and treatment needs.
It is delivered by Neuroscientist Hannah Westphal (BSc., FSPM) and informed by contemporary neuroscience, the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model and Polyvagal Theory.
Together, these findings provide a functional picture of your current nervous system
state.
Three simple steps. A lasting shift.
Understand where you are now
We assess your current nervous system state.
How stuck are you in your head?
Your default state: Fight/Flight (high stress) or Freeze/Shutdown (low energy)
You receive clear feedback to guide your care.
Find the why
We identify what’s driving your nervous system.
Map behaviours affecting dopamine, serotonin, HPA axis, adrenal and limbic responses
Understand your threat response to current situations
Create a personalised plan with daily regulation tools
Remove stressors and build habits that support your brain and body
Rewire & build resilience
90-day program to rewire your brain and shift to safety.
Integrates body (bottom-up) and mind (top-down)
Build safety through somatic work, self-awareness and relational safety
Rewire patterns through repeated experience of safety
Accountability & progress tracking to support lasting change
Calmer nervous system & greater resilience
Better response to treatment & healing
Improved mental, emotional & physical wellbeing
Lasting change & more freedom in daily life
Finally understand why you feel stuck, overwhelmed or on edge.
Learn practical tools to calm your body and mind every day.
Rewire your nervous system so you can handle life with more ease.
Create the right conditions for your body and mind to heal and thrive.
More energy, clarity and connection. A life led by you, not survival.
Special Interests:
Trauma, Addiction, Nervous System Recovery, Shame, Self Regulation & Safety, Stress, Authentic Self Expression.
Hannah Westphal is a Neuroscientist (BSc) and certified Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM) Practitioner with extensive experience in trauma recovery, addiction support, and mental health. Her practice integrates neuroscience, somatic therapy, and creative modalities to empower individuals in achieving long-term nervous system healing and emotional resilience. By addressing the root causes of trauma and emotional dysregulation, Hannah helps clients move beyond survival mode toward sustainable nervous system-based recovery and a renewed sense of safety and connection.
