Feeling safe is not a mindset. It’s a nervous system experience.
The Safe and Sound Protocol supports your nervous system in gently rediscovering what safety feels like, so connection, calm, and resilience can follow naturally. No force. No pushing. Just careful, guided support.
WHAT IS SSP
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a therapist-led, listening-based intervention designed to support nervous system regulation.
It uses specially filtered music to engage the auditory system, a key gateway to feelings of safety, calm, and social connection.
SSP is not about relaxation or distraction.
It works at the level of the nervous system, helping the body move out of long-held defensive patterns and into greater ease.
Sessions are carefully paced and always guided by a trained provider, ensuring the process feels supportive rather than overwhelming.
IS THIS FOR ME?
You may be drawn to SSP if you:
• Feel easily overwhelmed or on edge
• Struggle to relax, even when things are “fine”
• Notice heightened sensitivity to sound, stress, or social environments
• Feel disconnected from your body, emotions, or sense of safety
You don’t need a diagnosis to begin.
You only need curiosity and a willingness to go gently.
SSP FOR CHILDREN
Children experience the world through their nervous systems. When that system feels under stress, children may struggle with regulation, sensory processing, attention, sleep, or connection.
The Safe and Sound Protocol offers a gentle, listening-based approach that supports the nervous system’s capacity for safety and settling. By working through sound, SSP helps create the conditions for calmer states, improved engagement, and greater ease.
Sessions are carefully paced and guided, with close attention to each child’s sensitivity and readiness. The emphasis is always on safety, predictability, and supporting the child’s natural ability to connect and regulate.
SSP FOR ADULTS
Modern life places continuous demands on the nervous system. Ongoing stress, overload, trauma, or prolonged pressure can leave adults feeling anxious, fatigued, disconnected, or stuck in survival mode.
The Safe and Sound Protocol supports nervous system regulation through sound, helping the system move out of defensive patterns and into states that support calm, clarity, and connection.
Animals are highly sensitive to sound and environmental stress. Changes in routine, noise, separation, or past experiences can affect their nervous systems and behaviour.
SSP for pets offers a gentle, auditory-based approach that supports nervous system settling in animals experiencing stress or sensitivity. Sessions are offered in a calm, respectful way, with close observation and pacing.
Each animal is approached as an individual, with attention to temperament, environment, and signs of comfort or overwhelm.
SSP FOR PETS
SSP
FOR CHILDREN WITH DELAYED DEVELOPMENT
Some children experience delays in communication, regulation, or social engagement when their nervous systems remain in states of stress or shutdown.
The Safe and Sound Protocol does not teach skills directly. Instead, it supports the nervous system in feeling safe enough for development to unfold more naturally. By working with auditory processing and regulation, SSP may help reduce barriers that interfere with connection, attention, and communication.
For some children, this may be experienced as increased eye contact, improved engagement, or emerging communication. Each child’s response is unique, and the process is always guided gently, with close attention to safety and pacing.
THE PROCESS
Assessment & Preparation
You’ll begin with a conversation to understand your nervous system, history, and readiness. There’s no pressure to share details that feel uncomfortable. Safety and pacing come first.
Listening Sessions
The SSP consists of five hours of listening, broken into short, manageable sessions. Some people listen for 10 minutes at a time, others longer, your nervous system sets the pace.
Sessions can take place in person or remotely, always with guidance and monitoring.
Integration & Support
Between sessions, you’ll be supported as your system integrates the changes. Shifts are often subtle at first, improved sleep, emotional steadiness, or a greater sense of ease.
This is not about forcing change, but allowing it.
ABOUT ANGELA
Angela is a UK-trained Craniosacral Therapist with nearly two decades of experience supporting nervous system regulation and recovery.
Her work is grounded, attentive, and compassionate. Clients often describe feeling safe, heard, and deeply supported in her presence.
Angela integrates the Safe and Sound Protocol with Craniosacral Therapy where appropriate, supporting both regulation and integration. Her approach is gentle, paced, and guided by the understanding that lasting change happens when the nervous system feels safe enough to allow it.
THE SCIENCE
The SSP is grounded in Polyvagal Theory, developed by Stephen Porges, which explores how the nervous system responds to safety and threat.
The music used in SSP is filtered to emphasise frequencies associated with the human voice, signals the nervous system recognises as safe.
By gently engaging the muscles of the middle ear and vagal pathways, SSP supports the nervous system in shifting away from constant threat-scanning and toward regulation and connection.
Over time, listening to SSP music helps retrain your nervous system to respond more appropriately to your surroundings. Instead of feeling constantly on edge, you start interpreting your environment as safer, reducing stress responses like anxiety, hypervigilance, and even chronic pain.
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TESTIMONIALS
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If you’re wondering how this works in practice, what to expect, or whether SSP might be right for you or your child, the questions below offer clear guidance.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who Developed The SSP?
The SSP was developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, a renowned psychologist, professor of psychiatry, and Director of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He also created Polyvagal Theory. After decades of research into how our nervous system influences emotions and behaviour, Dr. Porges created the SSP to support people dealing with chronic stress, trauma, anxiety, and more by “resetting” their nervous system.
How does listening to music affect the nervous system?
The music used in SSP is filtered to emphasise mid-range frequencies associated with the human voice. These frequencies are recognised by the nervous system as signals of safety.
By gently engaging the muscles of the middle ear and related vagal pathways, SSP supports the nervous system in shifting away from constant threat-scanning and toward regulation and social engagement.
What Is Nervous System Regulation?
A regulated nervous system is one that can respond flexibly to life.
It allows you to feel present, connected, and able to recover after stress. When regulation is compromised, the system may stay stuck in states of fight, flight, or shutdown, even when danger is no longer present.
SSP supports the nervous system in relearning what safety feels like, so regulation becomes more accessible over time.
Who is SSP suitable for?
SSP is used with both children and adults. People often explore it when experiencing:
• Ongoing stress or overwhelm
• Anxiety or emotional reactivity
• Sensory sensitivities
• Difficulty relaxing or feeling safe
• Challenges with connection or social engagement
You do not need a specific diagnosis to benefit. Readiness and pacing are always assessed carefully.
Is SSP suitable for children?
Yes. SSP can be offered to children with careful pacing and close guidance.
For children, the focus is on safety, predictability, and supporting the nervous system’s natural capacity to settle and connect. Sessions are adapted to each child’s sensitivity and developmental stage.
Does It Work For Any Age?
The SSP is designed for children and adults of all ages. Whether it’s a young child struggling with sensory issues or an adult dealing with chronic stress, the SSP can be tailored to suit individual needs, as long as there are no contraindications, which your provider will be aware of.
Does SSP Work With Other Therapies?
Yes. Regulating your nervous system can actually make other therapies more effective. Think of SSP as laying the groundwork, so other therapies have a stronger foundation to build upon.
This is especially crucial for those with severe dysregulation or complex conditions. When your nervous system feels safe and supported, it is more open to receiving other treatments and therapies, like:
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• Trauma Release Exercises (TRE)
• Somatic Experiencing (SE)
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Mindfulness and Meditation Practices
But this extends past just therapies. The same principle applies if you’ve struggled with tolerating other healing modalities like supplements or detox protocols. SSP can help increase your tolerance.
Can you listen to the music in any order you wish?
Not quite, with the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), it’s not like a playlist of relaxing music that you can shuffle around. The listening sequences are specifically filtered and organized so that the nervous system is gradually “trained” to feel safe, regulate, and move toward social engagement. The protocol is designed to follow a progression that builds tolerance gently.
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Can SSP be done remotely?
Yes. SSP can be delivered both in person and remotely.
In both cases, it is always provider-led. This ensures appropriate pacing, monitoring, and support throughout the process.
Why does SSP need to be provider-led?
SSP is not designed to be a self-guided or DIY experience.
Each nervous system responds differently to the music. A trained provider supports you by adjusting the pace, responding to your feedback, and ensuring the process remains supportive rather than overwhelming.
This guidance is a key part of what makes SSP safe and effective.
How long does the SSP take?
The full protocol consists of five hours of listening.
However, this is not completed in one sitting. Listening time is broken into short sessions, often ranging from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how your nervous system responds.
For some people the process unfolds over a few weeks, for others over several months.
What do I need to do during SSP sessions?
Your role is simple.
You listen to the music at a pace agreed together, and you stay in communication about how you are feeling. You may also be invited to use gentle self-regulation practices between sessions if helpful.
There is no performance, effort, or expectation to “push through.”