Safe & Sound Protocol
The Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) is a gentle listening therapy that uses calming, specially designed music to help reduce sensitivity to sounds, improve how your brain processes what you hear, and support your overall well-being. For pelvic health clients, SSP can be particularly beneficial by promoting relaxation and reducing stress, which are important for managing pelvic pain and improving your body's natural regulation. This therapy is based on the polyvagal theory, which connects how our nervous system influences our physical and emotional health.
Benefits of the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP)
Integrating the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) with treatments for urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, pregnancy-related discomfort, or intimacy issues can offer profound benefits. The SSP, a listening therapy grounded in polyvagal theory, uses specially modulated music to promote a calm, engaged physiological state by targeting the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
This therapy helps to reduce sound sensitivities, improve auditory processing, and enhance emotional and physiological regulation. By tuning into music that highlights the human voice and sends cues of safety, SSP supports the regulation of essential body functions such as digestion and breathing, which are crucial for managing pelvic health issues.
For individuals experiencing disruptions in their ANS—common in those with pelvic pain or intimacy difficulties—SSP can aid in shifting from a heightened stress response to a more balanced state, potentially improving both physical and emotional well-being. This holistic approach can complement traditional treatments, providing a more comprehensive path to relief and enhanced quality of life.
How Does SSP Work?
The music of the SSP is filtered to highlight the human voice, sends cues of safety into the nervous system, and allows us to access the calm, engaged physiological state. Feelings of calm or threat are connected to how the autonomic nervous system regulates; and it can show up in how we feel, how we think, and/or how we behave.
In addition, the autonomic nervous system regulates essential body functions such as temperature control, digestion, and breathing; therefore, your experience to the SSP will be unique to you, as are the outcomes. Experience and outcomes will depend on the patterns of regulation that developed through early life experiences.
As the SSP targets the social engagement system, the ventral vagal parasympathetic state, its interconnections and involuntary nature can create a broad range of experiences: physical, emotional, and cognitive. You may notice these changes while doing the listening, between listening sessions, and for weeks after completing the protocol.
For many of our clients the ANS is disrupted and no longer supports homeostatic function. We utilize SSP to help regulate ANS—to be able to shift from fight or flight into rest and digest.
Safe & Sound Protocol Treatment Options
For our existing clients, we can seamlessly integrate the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) into your current plan of care at no additional cost.
If you’re interested in SSP as a stand-alone treatment, you're able to pay per session, with a minimum requirement of six sessions, which can be completed either in-person or virtually. More information on pricing is available here.
Most of the listening sessions can be done independently, and we will monitor your progress electronically to ensure you’re on track. However, additional guidance is available if needed to help you get the most out of your SSP experience.