Safe and Sound Protocol

Whether the root cause is trauma, neurodivergence, or a combination of the two, sometimes our nervous system can get really rigid. . . moving into fight, flight, or freeze when staying calm and regulated would be more effective.

For some people this looks like losing their temper, then later wondering what happened, it seems like nothing worth fighting about in hindsight.

For others it’s avoidance. . . living a smaller and more isolated life than you suspect is really right for you. Pleasing and appeasing instead of asking for what you really want.

For me it was chronic dissociation. . . zoning out whenever I felt slightly bored or intimidated instead of staying present.

Often it takes a bit of a crisis to make you want to change. It seems to happen naturally at mid-life, that we realize this is our only chance to live the life we want to have and we’re the only ones who can make it happen.

Sometimes it’s because a child grows up enough that parenting no longer demands quite so much time, and we start to get uncomfortable feelings in moments of down time.

Sometimes it’s when our life partner urges us to dig deeper. They sense that we’re staying shut off, shut down, but it’s hard for us to understand because supposedly everything is good in our lives today.

The first time I used the SSP I was skeptical. How could music really cause any deep change? We started with very brief exposures. . . 15-30 seconds, then a minute, two minutes, working up to 5 minute exposures. At first it was no problem, I couldn’t tell if I could feel anything at all. But by the time we were doing 2 minutes at a stretch, I could feel it.

I would notice I was sweaty and anxious, then later I’d feel like my heart was soaring. . . like when you’re watching a movie and there’s a beautiful shot of the landscape and the music swells. We’d pause the music and talk a little bit, and I’d feel my nervous system start to calm down again and that’s when I’d really realize that I’d been in an altered state of consciousness.

Since completing the SSP, I’m more confident, more outgoing. Less concerned about being judged or rejected. And I’m not scared when I feel myself getting triggered. . . now I’m just curious about it and I know not to make any big decisions until I feel regulated again.

The coolest part has been being able to be with my own nervous system in fight, flight, freeze, and safety WITHOUT any content. Normally I only felt these things when I was being triggered by my environment to feel them. This gave me a sense of agency and the opportunity to practice and get comfortable with my own biology and nervous system.

The SSP is 5 hours of music, but we will only do up to 30 minutes max during a day. You can do the whole 5 hours with me over time. If you have a stable support person at home who can work with you (someone with a nicely regulated nervous system, who tends to help you feel secure and calm) then you can complete each hour of music at home between our sessions. There’s a fee of 100$/month to have access to the music at home.

Timing is very specific to the individual for this modality. For people who have already done a lot of work or have relatively stable nervous systems, they can move through it in 6-8 sessions with me plus doing some at home in between sessions. For people with complex trauma and neurodivergence, we can do just a few minutes each week as an add on to regular sessions, without the pressure to get through it all quickly.

Filling out some paperwork to get a baseline for where you’re starting, and to help you start to think about some of the signs or signals that you’re in different nervous system states.

Weekly 60 or 90 minute sessions (depending on if you are doing just the SSP or doing somatic work in addition to the SSP)

Listening to filtered music on over-ear headphones during our sessions, and at home during the week if you have an appropriate partner for that.

Discussing the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that arise while listening. These can be quite challenging. . . we are stimulating the vagus nerve with this music. You might feel dizzy, nauseous, scared, angry, extra sensitive. You may experience changes to your sleep, digestion, and desire to engage with people. If your symptoms are disruptive, we’ll do smaller doses to find a just right dose that lets you grow and change without stressing out your system.

Practicing identifying different states in your nervous system. . . calm and connected, fight or flight, shutdown or collapse. . . and building tolerance for each of these states as well as the skill of returning to calm and connected.

Tracking your experience through the week between our sessions, noticing how things are changing for you.