What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a therapeutic intervention that involves listening to specially filtered music to help regulate the nervous system by stimulating the Vagus Nerve. This helps calm the nervous system and promotes a state of safety and well-being. The SSP helps re-tune the autonomic nervous system ANS) to be more resilient to life’s challenges and helps to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation. The SSP is based on Polyvagal Theory and decades of research by Dr. Stephen Porges.
Why do our nervous systems need re-tuning?
Our ANS allows us to relax, be social, and feel safe, as well as activating us to respond to threats and danger. It is always working by looking for signs of safety and threat from our environment, other people, and even from within our own bodies.
Responding to threats is important to our health and safety, but our nervous system can get stuck in that state. This often happens when people have experienced a lot of stress (recently or in the past), have anxiety or trauma histories, or have experienced a lot of medical issues or medical problems in childhood.
The SSP helps to remind our nervous system to shift out of a chronic state of threat response and back into a state of safety and well-being. It helps to anchor us in that state of safety while maintaining the ability to respond to threats when necessary, allowing us to move more fluidly between nervous system states when needed, without getting stuck in the threat response state.
Check out this video for a great explanation of our autonomic nervous system and how it can feel when it is out of balance:.jpg)
https://youtu.be/uH5JQDAqA8E?si=EmXgIuUoncYUjiq_
The benefits of SSP can include:
- Feeling calmer, more relaxed, and less anxious
- Improved responses to stress and to life’s challenges
- Better emotional regulation and resilience
- Getting better sleep
- More social connection and deeper relationships
- Less sensitivity to background noises with a better ability to hear voices.
- An ability to think better (When our nervous systems are stuck in stress response or survival mode, we don't have access to our higher learning and cognition)
- Better digestive function, including reduction in IBS and other digestive disorder symptoms (When in survival mode, our bodies are less concerned with digesting food, over time this can cause digestive disorders)
The SSP may be helpful in reducing symptoms and supporting overall health and resiliency for people seeking support for:
- Chronic stress
- Depression and anxiety
- Neurodevelopmental differences, such as autism, hyperactivity and attention
- Learning difficulties
- Sensory processing differences
- Trauma history
- And more
What will I need to do?
The SSP Core program simply involves listening to specially created, frequency adjusted music, a little each day, for a total of 5 hours. Listening is done with over the ear headphones. On average, people finish the core program in 10 days to 3 weeks, but listening time is individual and will be adjusted for your needs. The core program is often followed by the Balance program, which can be used as desired or needed. Everyone is unique, so April will work with you individually to create a listening plan that is right for you.
You can find more information about SSP here: whatisthessp.com
April has found that her clients benefit more when combining the SSP with MAP Coaching and she encourages her clients to get two or three MAP Coaching sessions before beginning the SSP.
Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) & MAP Coaching Package - $625 (more details on the Services and Rates Page)
Existing MAP Clients - contact April for pricing and to begin the Safe and Sound Protocoal
