Dr. Steven Porges developed the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), an evidence-based listening therapy based on the polyvagal theory. Many have heard that the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system that regulates key involuntary functions such as heart rate, respiratory rate, digestion, and urination, has two branches separated into 1) “fight or flight”, the sympathetic branch and 2) “rest and digest”, the parasympathetic branch. The polyvagal theory proposes that the parasympathetic branch actually has 2 parts: a ventral and dorsal division of the vagus nerve complex, each with unique functions. The vagus nerve wanders downward through the lungs, heart, diaphragm, and stomach and upward to connect with nerves in the neck, throat, eyes and ears. In 1994, Porges proposed that the vagus nerve plays a major role in emotion regulation, social connection, and fear response. The ventral vagal pathway responds to cues of safety and supports being safely engaged and socially connected. In contrast, the dorsal vagal pathway responds to cues of extreme danger – this is that freeze response we sometimes hear about in “fight, flight, freeze” in response to perceived or actual threat.

Neuroception is the unconscious assessment of danger so that we can mobilize and take action. It is the subconscious assessment that takes place in the primitive parts of our brain of cues from our environments (internal, interpersonal, and external) via our senses. Sometimes, these circuits do not detect threat accurately when the environment is actually safe. Therapy is helpful in identifying how someone’s past experiences can contribute to this misfiring so that people can learn what information to test and trust.

The dorsal vagal pathway responds to cues of extreme danger (remember: the sympathetic branch responds to danger too with fight-flight responses). It seems counterintuitive, but like our ancestors, we still are wired to survive by hitting that “power down” button – a last ditch effort to survive: play dead. Exposure to chronic stress can change how the nervous system regulates our bodily functions, and limit our ability to engage socially and think clearly. If we can get back some control over our physiological state, we can respond more efficiently and significantly to our emotions, behavior and cognitions when they arise. The better we can regulate our states and the more flexibly and smoothly we can move between them, the better our health – physical, emotional, and mental – will be.

The SSP reduces stress and auditory sensitivity while enhancing social engagement and resilience. Sound vibrations activate the auditory neural network, sending a message to relax and let go of tension. The SSP is a series of pop songs or classical music that is progressively modulated [changed] so that the inner ear muscles learn to pick up on middle frequencies, which happen to be frequencies of the human voice, meant to be cues of safety. The SSP stimulates the ventral vagal pathway to help us to access our innate capacity to be calm and regulated. Most of us, especially those who have experienced trauma or prolonged stressors, need to relearn how to truly relax; but it’s just that – something to relearn! Many need to learn how to let these defenses down in the presence of a trained professional. Not only can we learn to access our safe zone, with specific therapies such as the SSP, we can rewire sensory pathways to become more flexible and better at processing and responding to our environment.

~

Jenny has been utilizing the SSP technology with a high success rate with her clients since February 2023. While it’s not certainly not for everyone (it ain’t snake oil!), it can be a powerful supportive tool to support people whose nervous systems are dysregulated due to a history of trauma or chronic stress. The process is highly individual in terms of duration and frequency, but here is a sample outline of what doing the SSP might look like:

Week 1: Comprehensive assessment and introduction of the polyvagal theory and SSP and listen to 10-15 minutes of SSP Connect which is just regular, unmodulated music. At home, you will use over-the-ear headphones that are not noise-canceling and not wireless and practice listening to this first playlist on your own at least 4x a week 10-20 minutes to get into the practice of listening to music while doing nothing else (who does this anymore?!).

Week 2: Start listening to SSP Core, the beginning of modulated music. Depending on how your nervous system responds, you may listen to 10-20 mins easing into it. This variability then determines how many weeks it will take to complete the 5 hours of the Core playlist. For instance, if you listen to 20 mins 5x/week, you will complete Core in 3 weeks.

Week 5+: Over the next 3 weeks, you will complete 5 hours of the Balance playlist which starts to reintroduce normal, unmodulated frequencies in music.

Depending on the individual, the Core playlist may be repeated 6-8 weeks later to continue to build upon the groundwork that was placed the first time.

Each listening session with Jenny, you will also learn nervous system regulating activities which are…just what they sound like! The music may lead to mild to moderate dysregulation. Remember, it is training your inner ear muscles to pick up frequencies of sound it may not be used to. Activities like deep breathing and other somatic therapy techniques will help soothe the body and mind when this happens, and deepen the effect of the SSP.

For more information about the technology: The Safe and Sound Protocol Listening Therapy | Unyte (integratedlistening.com)