Services

Safe and Sound Protocol

Move from surviving to thriving.

Safe and Sound Protocol
Three Pathways: Connect, Core, Balance

The complete Safe and Sound Protocol program, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, comprises three main pathways that are accessible through and facilitated by a qualified and certified professional. The CORE pathway is an acoustical intervention that is designed to stimulate the vagus nerve, retuning it and our nervous systems to better function, which affects many imperative body functions (heart rate, breathing, digestion for example).

The Safe and Sound Protocol pathways are designed to help the nervous system to better receive, process and respond to the cues and signals from the world around us. This helps us learn how to more easily and consistently feel better regulated in the face of life’s challenges.

As the practitioner accompanies the client through the protocol, they offer safety, attunement and regulation. The Connect pathway can be used before the CORE pathway, to prepare for the CORE intervention. The Balance pathway is a follow up that can bolster the healing from the CORE protocol. Each of the Safe and Sound Protocol pathways is composed of different filtered, unfiltered and calming 5-hour music playlists for either children or adults.

The Safe and Sound Protocol Works

The Safe and Sound Protocol is a non-invasive application of Polyvagal Theory. It is based on decades of research and developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, a world-renowned scientist and professor who in 1994 founded the Polyvagal Theory.

The effectiveness of the Safe and Sound Protocol has been proven in a wide range of studies, most notably in two clinical trials involving children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Trial participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in:

Emotional control
Behavioral organization
Hearing sensitivity and listening

The Safe and Sound Protocol exercises the neural pathways associated with regulating behavioral state and social engagement. These are aspects of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). And just as the brain is plastic and can change based on experience, the ANS is also plastic. The Safe and Sound Protocol has also been shown in peer-reviewed research to significantly increase vagal regulation of the heart. This has the effect of better control of state.

Control of state is critical to how we approach the task at hand; when you have better state control, not only can you be more socially engaged, you are more open to therapy. In other words, better state regulation improves therapeutic outcomes.

Nourish and awaken the nervous system safely and effectively.
Feel better. Think better. Connect better.

Feel Better

Feel more safe, calm, grounded, and resilient.
Feel less irritable, anxious, and overwhelmed.

Think Better

Think more clearly, attentively, and creatively.
Think less rigidly. Be less disorganized and distractible.

Connect Better

Connect more openly, genuinely, and wholly.
Connect less guardedly, distantly, or in a conflicted manner.

Who Can Benefit

If you are struggling with any of the following you might benefit from using the Safe and Sound Protocol:

Social and emotional difficulties

Auditory and other sensory sensitivities

Auditory processing difficulties

Anxiety and trauma-related challenges

Inattention

Reactivity

Low resilience

Stressors that impact social engagement

Difficulties in regulating physiological and emotional state

Chronic pain and fatigue

Depression

Difficulty sleeping

Gut issues

“Trauma is chronic disruption of connectedness.” “Trauma is not the event, but the individual’s response.”

Dr Stephen Porges

What Our Clients Say

LB – Kelowna BC

"I am really happy to be writing this testimonial. What a life changing experience Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) has been for me. It has been one month since I was introduced to the SSP intervention and my day-to-day living is vastly different. I have suffered from PTSD most of my life. The intake process of SSP illuminated the effects of PTSD on my senses, showing up as hypersensitivity in hearing, sight, tactile sensing, and taste. I was also extremely hyper vigilant about my environment, making my daily experience very distracting, upsetting, and exhausting. I have come to understand that hypersensitivity and hypervigilance are hallmark symptoms of PTSD.

The intervention took five days for me. On day five, I felt an internal shift. What does that look like? The top four things that have changed are sleep, safety, happiness, and reduction of the hypersensitivities.

I have been a poor sleeper my whole life, averaging four to five hours a night of broken restless sleep. I now sleep seven hours solidly every night. I experience a felt sense of safety; and it remains with me daily. What a beautiful way to live. I am no longer consumed by the hypervigilance of constantly monitoring my world for danger. The ease with which I now move through my world is quite incredible. I experience happiness daily. I didn’t really know what happy felt like, but I have a fuller experience of that now. The reduction in sensory sensitivities is new and exciting. I am not on ‘high alert’ anymore, allowing me a calmer daily existence. The neural exercises learned during the intervention continue to help my nervous system to be calmer and more flexible. I notice improvements in how I relate to myself and the important people around me. The SSP intervention has given me the ability to navigate the inevitable bumps in the road with assurance and resilience. I no longer am just surviving: I am thriving. Thank you SSP!"