Safe and Sound Protocol

The Safe and Sound Protocol can benefit infants, children, teens, and adults.

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a specially filtered music program that helps us reach the parts of the brain that need regulating for improved function and behavior. The SSP music is designed to shift the nervous system into a more resilient state, by influencing the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in our bodies. Improving vagal tone allows us to feel more secure and regulated, which allows for greater social engagement, flexible thinking and improves a person’s ability to listen, learn and try new things, instead of having an automatic defensive or fearful response (so we can respond versus react).

The SSP also improves auditory and language processing, due to the presentation of specific frequencies of sounds to the auditory pathways and volume changes in the music that influences the middle ear muscles to be able to filter out background noise, to better hear the person speaking.

Physiological state strongly influences the expression of behavioral, mental, and physical problems. Many people’s autonomic nervous systems are heightened: they spend more time in that sympathetic (fight/flight) response or shut down (freeze/dorsal vagal) response. This heightened state influences overall harmony and happiness in life. The SSP helps to strengthen our parasympathetic functioning and allows our bodies to improve rest and digestion for health and growth of the body and brain. The SSP is a neural exercise; it’s an “opener” so other therapeutic activities that follow are more effective and impactful. The ‘SSP-Core’ is a 5-hour intervention, with additional music hours to use for further support to the autonomic nervous system.

Research-based therapy has shown significant improvement in the following areas following listening to the SSP-Core:

  • Anxiety and trauma-related challenges

  • Inattention

  • Social and emotional difficulties

  • Auditory Sensitivities

  • Sensitive eating difficulties

  • Reactive/negative behaviors

  • Difficulties in regulating physiological and emotional states

Interested in a Group Listening Experience?

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Based on Dr. Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, the program is derived from four decades of research on the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and social-emotional processes. Listening is dependent on the neural regulation of the autonomic state. The SSP involves listening to digitally filtered music to “tune” the middle ear muscles specifically to frequencies of the human voice. Changing the state of the middle ear muscles can increase connectivity, readiness, and ability to access executive functions. The SSP also increases “vagal tone” improving physiological state and self-regulation. By calming the physiological state of the client, a sense of safety is introduced. This opens the door for improved communication, improved social interactions, greater success, and quicker gains in therapy.

Clinical diagnosis is not required to benefit from the SSP. However, if a trauma history of any kind is present, it’s important to discuss this prior to starting. The SSP is a 5-hour, powerful listening intervention designed to work along with other therapies. Through an assessment process, I will work closely with you to determine the most fitting listening schedule for you. Some people may listen to 30 minutes a day, over a couple of weeks’ time, others listen fewer minutes over several weeks’ time.

“The process of actually changing feels good. Effective working on one’s problems is not self-torture. The change process we have discovered is natural to the body and it feels that way in the body.”
— Eugene Gendlin