Integrated Listening Systems
UK Safe and Sound Protocol Provider
brain & body boost is one of only a handful of Safe and Sound Protocol providers in northern England offering Digital delivery - meaning the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) can be delivered remotely where appropriate
What is the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an auditory intervention designed to reduce stress & auditory sensitivity while reducing social anxiety through enhancing social engagement & resilience.
The SSP involves listening to music that has been processed specifically to retune the nervous system to introduce a sense of safety and the ability to socially engage.
This allows better interpretation of speech, but also the emotional meaning of language. Spontaneous social behaviour, reduced social anxiety, and enhanced ability to learn & self-regulate & engage are often seen.
What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a research-based sound therapy with significant results possible in the following areas:
- Social and emotional difficulties
- Auditory sensitivities
- Anxiety & trauma related challenges
- Inattention
Safe and Sound Protocol: One SSP, Three Pathways
Three Pathways
Since the release of Dr Porges’ original Safe and Sound Protocol (now named SSP Core), ILS has listened to the experiences and insights of the SSP Provider community. There are now 2 new additional phases to the original SSP Core providing a more gentle introduction to the SSP and also for a way to integrate and extend the experience to achieve even better outcomes.
Safe and Sound Protocol
The Safe and Sound Protocol is designed to reduce stress & auditory sensitivity while enhancing social engagement & resilience by activating the vagus nerve and strengthening the inner ear muscles. It involves listening to music that has been processed specifically to retune the nervous system to introduce a sense of safety and the ability to socially engage. This allows the client to better interpret human speech, but also the emotional meaning of language.
Benefits
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 and oppositionally
Social & emotional difficulties, Auditory sensitivities, Anxiety & trauma related challenges, and Inattention can all be reduced along with an enhanced ability to learn, self-regulate and engage
How it works
What you hear, and how you hear it, influences how the body responds. Listening is connected with the vagus nerve, the body’s internal control center for processing and responding to cues and signals from the world around us.
The SSP uses specially-filtered music to train the neural network associated with listening to focus on the frequency range of the human voice and as we learn to focus on the sound frequencies of human speech, the vagus nerve becomes stimulated and the state of feeling more safe and calm becomes accessible (Social Engagement).
What to expect
Initial screening and pathway matching takes place in our initial consultation where I share information about how the protocol works, understanding the ANS and state changes, and tips on how best to self and co-regulate. I then see clients face to face or online for a minimum of the first listening session - clients listen to the first section of the SSP during this session, whilst I observe for and manage reactions to the music. The first section may be a matter of minutes up to 30 mins (rarely) depending on the individual's reaction to the music and history. From my observations, I then recommend the best way to progress with listening for the following day and we keep in daily contact for remainder of the protocol for the client to share responses which helps me advise accordingly. Daily contact can be a combination of face to face, video call, phone or email and will be discussed during the initial consultation and first listening session.
More Successful Therapy
By calming the physiological & emotional state, the SSP opens the door for improved communication and more successful therapy. Emotional and physiological state are critical to how we approach the task at hand. So when a client has better state control, not only can they be more socially engaged with less anxiety, they are more open to therapy. Better state regulation improves therapeutic outcomes.
SSP: Three Pathways
SSP Connect
SSP Balance
SSP Connect
There are 3 playlists of SSP Connect: Classical Connect, Adult Connect & Child Connect
All 3 Connect playlists are unfiltered - this does not mean they are innocuous. Music is a powerful input to the nervous system with unfiltered music providing significant improvements in spontaneous speech and listening. This is supported by an ever g
There are 3 playlists of SSP Connect: Classical Connect, Adult Connect & Child Connect
All 3 Connect playlists are unfiltered - this does not mean they are innocuous. Music is a powerful input to the nervous system with unfiltered music providing significant improvements in spontaneous speech and listening. This is supported by an ever growing body of research on the positive effects of music on brain function and behaviour.
Classical Connect is suggested as a first step for clients who need to adjust to the experience of listening to music via headphones, especially vocal music. The classical music here has been curated to be calming & grounding, with a soothing tempo and without abrupt change. SSP Connect may be used as a soothing experience for those who feel anxious or tense or as a preparatory programme before SSP Core or even SSP Adult / Child Connect - providing the 'Safe' before the 'Sound'.
Adult & Child Connect are the same playlists as SSP Core without any processing. This can be useful for those who may find any of the tracks triggering and for those who need a little experience with the tracks to feel comfortable with them before progressing to SSP Core - providing familiarity & expectancy for SSP Core...providing the 'Safe' before the 'Sound'
All Connect soundtracks are 5 hours
SSP Core
SSP Balance
SSP Connect
SSP Core (original SSP) is 5 hours of 'popular' music that has been processed specifically to retune the nervous system to introduce a sense of safety and the ability to socially engage.
There are 2 playlists: Adult Core & Child Core
SSP Core can be very powerful, particularly for those with sensitive systems and a history of trauma
Howeve
SSP Core (original SSP) is 5 hours of 'popular' music that has been processed specifically to retune the nervous system to introduce a sense of safety and the ability to socially engage.
There are 2 playlists: Adult Core & Child Core
SSP Core can be very powerful, particularly for those with sensitive systems and a history of trauma
However the benefits when managed through the process carefully are also powerful - allowing the client to better interpret human speech, but also the emotional meaning of language. Once interpersonal interactions improve, spontaneous social behaviours through reduced anxiety and an enhanced ability to learn, self-regulate and engage are often seen along with increased benefit from other therapy. Discuss your challenges with potential Safe & Sound Protocol Providers to gain an understanding of the impact it could have on your life.
SSP Balance
SSP Balance
SSP Balance
SSP Balance uses the same 5 hour playlists as SSP Core with a more gentle workout through lighter processing.
There are 2 playlists: Adult Balance & Child Balance
SSP Balance can be used in a few ways:
It can be used as a booster if a repeat of SSP Core is appropriate to re-experience the cues of safety from SSP Core
It can be used on a reg
SSP Balance uses the same 5 hour playlists as SSP Core with a more gentle workout through lighter processing.
There are 2 playlists: Adult Balance & Child Balance
SSP Balance can be used in a few ways:
It can be used as a booster if a repeat of SSP Core is appropriate to re-experience the cues of safety from SSP Core
It can be used on a regular basis at home / daily support of the nervous system for those with a tendency to sympathetic arousal
It can also be used to integrate and embed the experience of SSP Core
Despite the lighter processing, some clients find Balance to be more powerful than SSP Core, so I find supervision is often required at the outset.
Polyvagal Theory: Feeling Safe
Rapid societal change and adverse life experiences are increasingly resulting in physical and mental health challenges including:
- Social, emotional & attachment disorders
- Auditory hypersensitivity
- Body organization
- Nervous system dysregulation
- Learning, cognition & attention difficulty
- Sensory processing differences
- Stress-related physical conditions
For some it is visible. For others, it’s more hidden and on the inside.
While traditional treatments help some, many with adverse experiences, or conditions such as ADHD, autism or PTSD continue to face challenges.
This affects quality of life for individuals and their families. It can impact us internally by how we feel and think, and externally in our ability to connect with others and the world around us.
Learn More
To read more about the Polyvagal Theory click below to visit the Unyte - ILS SSP website
Does this sound familiar?
Do you or your child really struggle with social engagement? Struggle with small talk / chatting to groups / feel awkward in social situations or even find it difficult to maintain eye contact?
Do you or your child really struggle with different aspects of auditory processing whether it be oversensitive to sound or unable pay attention to voices; visual processing where you have to wear sunglasses a lot of the time or distracted by a movement only you can see; or tactile processing which can be dislike of nail cutting, hair cutting, tooth brushing or reacting badly to being touched? All of these over-sensitivities can lead to anxiety, which often is not helped by more traditional therapy.
Any of these signs can mean that you or your child do not feel safe in the world due to being overstimulated by sensory input. The Safe & Sound Protocol helps us to feel safer by training the muscles of the middle ear and therefore helping us to feel safe and when we feel safe we can then allow ourselves to be open to social engagement - improving our ability to maintain attention, hold eye contact, socialise with groups, and feel less anxious.
To read more about the ILS Safe & Sound Protocol and the Polyvagal Theory visit: https://integratedlistening.com/ssp-safe-sound-protocol/
Learn More
To read more about the ILS Safe & Sound Protocol click below to visit the Unyte - ILS SSP website
Free 15 minute phone consultations...
...a great way to find out more about the Safe and Sound Protocol
Please get in touch for pricing - each person's route through the SSP is individual and therefore pricing is also individual...
...those with a history of trauma will require more support, as will those with sensitive systems, so standard pricing is difficult to achieve
