The Safe and Sound Protocol™ & Polyvagal Theory

the science of feeling safe

Feel safer in your body and out in the world with others

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an evidence-based listening therapy designed to improve behavioral state regulation and social engagement behaviors through filtered music. As a practical application of Polyvagal Theory, the SSP acts as a non-invasive, acoustic vagal nerve stimulator, helping to re-tune the nervous system to better support connection, collaboration and resilience. 

As a Somatic Psychotherapist helping clients with Disordered Eating Recovery and Trauma Recovery, I am thrilled to add this innovative and impactful intervention into my practice, which compliments and enhances the wholistic way in which I have worked for over 34 years. 

How it Works

Developed by world-renowned researcher and creator of the Polyvagal Theory, Dr. Stephen Porges, the SSP involves listening to specially filtered music through headphones alongside a provider, in-person or remotely. The specially filtered music gently stimulates the nervous system and promotes state regulation, safety, and social engagement. The SSP has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms related to stress, anxiety, and trauma; and improve emotion regulation and social engagement.

When Somatic Skills Training and the Safe and Sound Protocol are combined, it can have a powerful effect on healing and growth during eating disorder and disordered eating recovery, and trauma healing. This combination addresses both physiological and emotional healing at the same time for enhancing emotion regulation, increasing self-awareness and body awareness, relieving held tension in the body, and securing the social engagement system for improved relational and behavioral change. 

The SSP is designed to retune your nervous system, helping you feel more grounded, connected, and balanced.

learn more about the Polyvagal Theory & Safe and Sound Protocol:


What to Expect

As a certified, advanced trained Polyvagal Therapist and Neuropsychotherapist, the SSP provides another tool I use in enhancing autonomic nervous system regulation in both my psychotherapy and somatic skills coaching work with my clients to help them regain a sense of feeling safe in their body and increasing the ability to feel safer out in the world with others.

The 5-hour program typically takes 2-3 months to complete. However, as each of our nervous systems are unique, this timeframe will vary depending upon your unique needs and what we determine together would be best for you. As a client of the SSP, your safety and feeling both grounded and secure throughout is my utmost priority. Therefore, any time you need to pause the protocol or take a break or stop, you have this choice. 

After the 5-hour program completion, you will have access to the Balance portion of the program for up to three months to use as continued support if you wish. Where the SSP Core results tend to be effective and long-lasting for most clients, many clients tend to wish to repeat the process at a later date, and you are welcome to do so. Please note that the same fees below apply to re-enrollment in the protocol. 

The SSP Packages

How We Can Work Together

for Established Clients

$500

INCLUDES:

  • Initial assessments and onboarding protocol

  • Somatic Skills Coaching throughout the sessions 

  • Text message exchanges during the Core session (as needed)

  • Three months of access to the Core and Balance (if needed) portion of the SSP

For New Clients

$650

INCLUDES:

  • Initial Assessments

  • One 30 minute SSP session (remote or in-person) for psycho-education and onboarding of the individualized protocol

  • Text message exchanges during the Core session (as needed)

  • One 30 minute SSP follow-up session

  • Three months of access to the Core and Balance (if needed) portion of the SSP

FAQs

  • The SSP is low risk for most people, and can help improve many symptoms associated with trauma, social engagement, behavioral state regulation and sensory challenges. The Safe and Sound Protocol is a powerful tool for supporting nervous system regulation.

    If any of the following are part of your unique nervous system history, delivery can still be administered however, we will discuss a different plan of delivery to ensure greater safety, regulation and benefit.


    Bipolar Disorder; Dissociative Disorders; Severe developmental trauma; Borderline Personality

    Some clients may be at higher risk for dysregulation due to your nervous system pattern of increased physiological arousal when under stress (Levy, 2013). Therefore, there may be a tendency to experience significant or rapid fluctuations in arousal and hypoarousal during SSP, but these are the states we will carefully manage and re-regulate together.

    Active Psychosis

    I do not deliver the SSP if you have a recent history of psychosis or have active symptoms of psychosis, such as hallucinations, delusions, or paranoia. If you have a history of this in the past, after clinical determination, I may consider delivery for those clients that I can work with in-person only.

    Autoimmune conditions; Neurological conditions

    Sometimes, with certain medical complexities, you may be more likely to have a nervous system that is more sensitive and reactive, requiring more advanced clinical reasoning (Diamond-Fox and Bone, 2021; Zalewski et al., 2018). There is also a high potential for benefit from the SSP for clients with medical complexity, due to the influence of autonomic regulation on immune function (Scaer, 2005). Therefore, we will carefully manage and re-regulate together and I may ask to speak with your medical provider prior to delivery.

    Conditions related to the structure of the inner ear

    I would ask permission to speak with your medical provider prior to delivery.

    Seizure Disorders

    The risk of changes in seizure activity related to SSP delivery is not fully known, but understood to be low. There are limited reports of mild increase in seizure activity for clients with pre-existing seizure conditions, though a direct connection to SSP has not been established. Clients with seizure conditions have reported benefits from the SSP related to autonomic regulation and social engagement behaviors.

    I would ask to speak with your medical provider prior to delivery.

  • It’s not the ideal time to start the delivery of the SSP during very stressful life events. During these times, our nervous system is already taxed, and the addition of something new may create more dysregulation and make it difficult to know what may be impacting. Therefore, it is best to start the SSP during a less stressful periods in your life.

    That being said, life events happen. If a life event that causes significant distress happens during your listening period, I may ask you to pause your listening and return once we determine together that things feel more settled to you.

  • Yes, you are in control at all times of whether you wish to continue listening, pause, or stop altogether. We will discuss this and proceed according to what feels best to you.

    Please note, once we complete the onboarding session and you begin listening to the Core program, I cannot refund any payment. However, I will allow you to break and restart the program at a later date with no additional charge.