In my experience, the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) benefits most people. We live in a demanding, overstimulating world, and stress often leaves us feeling wired, flat, easily overwhelmed and less able to cope. We get anxious, avoid social situations and noisy, busy places. We struggle to concentrate, sit still and sleep.
The specially filtered music in the SSP is designed to emphasise the middle frequencies of the human voice that signal safety - the tones you hear in soothing speech, laughter and gentle singing. These signals of safety help your body settle into a calmer, more regulated state. Over time, this can help you feel less on edge, calmer in social settings and generally less reactive. With that comes the ability to think more clearly, be more creative and learn more easily.
The SSP is a provider-guided listening intervention developed by Dr Stephen Porges, whose work led to Polyvagal Theory.
The aim is not to make you calm all the time or to “fix” your nervous system. It is to support greater flexibility so you’ll have capacity to settle after stressful events, feel more at ease with people, and find it easier to respond rather than react automatically.
There are five hours of music, but it is not a five-hour treatment. Listening is paced around the individual and may be spread over weeks or months, with short sessions, pauses and adjustments as needed.
The SSP is suitable for children and adults, including those who are highly sensitive or easily overwhelmed. Families or friends may choose to experience the SSP together, using the shared listening time to co‑regulate and strengthen their connection.
Safe & Sound
What people say
I find it endlessly fascinating to hear about the changes my clients experience.
They reach out to people when they haven’t in years, their boss compliments them on a job well done, they get promoted, they find a partner, they start a business, they return to work after taking time off for health reasons. They feel more comfortable in noisy social environments and stay for longer. They start doing things they used to do years ago.
As one person said: I’ve no idea how the music works, but it changes something.
I see people who start to smile more and become more expressive.
Sometimes it’s quite subtle, and we are never really sure if it was the SSP, but I’ve seen so many people change that I have learned to trust and believe in the music. The music helps create the conditions for these changes to occur.
The Safe and Sound Protocol can help
The Science
Evidence-based listening therapy offered by certified practitioners.
Developed by Dr Stephen Porges and used by practitioners around the world, the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is based on decades of research that is now known as the Polyvagal Theory.
Safe and effective for all ages
The Protocol
Listen to modulated music through over-the-ear headphones in short sessions, not necessarily every day.
This music is delivered through a smartphone app.
Initially, you listen during a session and then you listen in your own time.
The Result
Retune your nervous system so you feel calmer and less reactive.
Reduces stress, auditory sensitivity and social anxiety.
Improve relationships and your ability to connect with others.
Increases your capacity to respond effectively to life's daily challenges.
Research and real‑world data show that SSP can support a wide range of challenges linked to nervous system dysregulation. These include anxiety, low mood, trauma symptoms, sound sensitivity, difficulties with attention and learning, and social communication. For many people, SSP creates enough regulation and safety in the body that other therapies (talk therapy, EMDR, OT, coaching, etc.) become more effective.
We can re-tune our nervous system to feel safe enough to do the things we want to do.
“If you want to improve the world, start by making people feel safer” Dr Stephen Porges
This information includes proprietary content about the Safe and Sound Protocol and Rest and Restore Protocol, used with permission from Unyte Health Inc. I am a certified provider of both protocols and use them personally