Safe and Sound Protocol in Castle Rock, Colorado
Helping your Nervous System find a Sense of Safety Through the Safe and Sound Protocol
Are you tired of feeling stuck in anxiety and stress? No matter how many times you “think positive” or tell yourself “I am okay/ I am safe,” you can’t seem to get out of whirlwind of fear and shame. You make your best efforts to stay calm, process your emotions, and reach out for support. Yet, your body hijacks these labors into chaos, leading to symptoms of:
- Anxiety (Panic, strong reactivity, trauma triggers)
- Depression (Fatigue, apathy, shut down)
- Relationship issues
- Social Isolation
- Sleep problems
- Poor memory and learning
- Attention Problems
- Poorer health
- Sound Sensitivity
You are NOT crazy or out of control or can’t get yourself together
We often forget our bodies hold our stories and experiences as much, if not more, as our brains and thoughts. Our nervous system runs throughout our body, its main job is to keep us safe and alive. Part of how our nervous system work, is it detects ques of threat and safety in the environmen. An example of this is seeing a snake vs. a baby smiling. Depending on those ques it makes us ready to smack the snake on the head and run or calm down and relax. This happens at a SUBCONCIOUS LEVEL. Which means, YOU CAN NOT THINK YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM INTO SAFTEY. More on this here.
Adverse Experiences can Disrupt the System
When we experience painful and dangerous situations (physically or emotionally). Our nervous system deploys its forces to cope with whatever situation we are facing. Unfortunately, sometimes these situations are too overwhelming, painful, or dangerous. Our nervous systems and bodies become inundated with danger signals. When this happens, our nervous systems can get stuck in fear. Which means that it remains activated EVEN AFTER THE DANGER HAS SUBSIDED. This is what we call trauma.
Trauma can be a major event, as most people think. But it can also be emotional neglect, abuse, never feeling loved or good enough, major loss, and much more. Trauma can cause the nervous system to get stuck in survival mode. You can read more about trauma, here.
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) can help you get unstuck by retraining your nervous system
SSP is a non-invasive, evidence-based practice based on Polyvagal Theory. The SSP helps build nervous system flexibility. It builds a greater awareness of safety, and lower stress within the nervous system. The SSP is a program that uses music reset the nervous system. A filtering plays in the background of the music. The filtering helps th
e core nerve in your body to identify more ques of safety in your environment. Many people experience:
- Lower Anxiety
- Greater Focus and Attention
- Enhanced Receptive and Expressive Language
- Better Emotion Regulation
- Improved Learning
- Enhanced Sleep
- Reduced Pain Levels
- Increased Effectiveness of Counseling
Polyvagal Theory and how SSP works
Stephen Porges developed our understanding of Polyvagal theory. The Autonomic Nervous System(ANS) regulates our ability to engage with the world. It controls our body’s internal functions. Thing like heart rate, breathing, digestion, cognitive speed, energy levels, and hormones. Imagine how being stuck in your ANS can lead to all sorts of problems
Creating flexibility in your Autonomic Nervous System
What helps us be flexible, you might ask?
Well the simplest way is human connection and relationship. Yet, trauma can complicate our sense of safety within human connections. This is where SSP comes in.
SSP uses the understanding of how mothers voice sooths their infants through lullabies. A soft human voice can, both, sooth a nervous system and increase connection for a baby. Porges’ research on retuning an adults’ nervous system happen with the sound of a soft human voice. It creates flexibility within the nervous, and a sense safety in the environment.
And no SSP is not listening to mothers’ lullabies (even though, that might be kind of nice). It provides music that has a filtering to retrain the ear and nervous system. It teaches them to focus on the safe voices of people around us. Even if you unsafe people around you, the SSP can still help you feel better.
The SSP can help with so many concerns. Things like depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma, neurodivergence, eating disorder, or relationship issues
Lifetouch Counseling offers the SSP Therapy
As a clinic that specializes in trauma therapy, we love offering the SSP to our clients. Some people choose to integrate it into their therapy. But, others seek out the Safe and Sound Program on it’s own. Either way works.
What’s holding you back from getting your SSP treatment?
We have a SSP specialist that will work with you on how to best receive your SSP. Administering it through a telehealth option is completely possible, if you prefer. We also schedule in-person appointments.
