Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
A polyvagal-informed approach to nervous system regulation
The SSP is a polyvagal-informed listening program designed to support nervous system regulation, emotional resilience, and a greater sense of safety and connection.
For many, chronic stress, anxiety, trauma, burnout, or relational wounds can leave the nervous system working overtime. You might know, intellectually, that you are safe or that things are “fine,” but your body may still be bracing, scanning, shutting down, or preparing for something to go wrong.
The SSP is one way of gently working with that body-level sense of safety.
Rather than asking you to think your way out of stress, the SSP uses specially filtered music to support the nervous system’s ability to settle, connect, and recover.
What is the SSP?
The SSP is an evidence-based listening program developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, who prososed Polyvagal Theory. The SSP consists of specially filtered music delivered through headphones on the Unyte platform. The music is designed to gently exercise the neural pathways associated with feeling safe, connected, and calm. As you make your way through the 5 hours of the SSP, these highlighted frequencies send cues of safety to retune your nervous system, to support you in feeling more settled, engaged and balanced.
In practical terms: you listen. The work happens below the level of conscious thought.
The SSP targets your social engagement system - the part of your nervous system responsible for reading safety in your environment, regulating your emotional state, and connecting with others. When this system is online, everything else becomes more possible: deeper conversations, more restful sleep, less reactivity, a greater capacity for presence.
Who might benefit?
What does it actually look like?
What does it actually look like?
The SSP may be a good fit if you:
- Find it hard to feel safe or settled, even in calm circumstances
- Struggle with hypervigilance, sensory sensitivity, or feeling constantly "on"
- Have a history of trauma, depression, anxiety, chronic stress, chronic pain, or early relational difficulty
- Feel disconnected from your body or from other people
- Have found talk therapy helpful but still feel like something is getting in the way of progress
- Are autistic, ADHD, or otherwise neurodivergent and experience nervous system dysregulation
The SSP has been used with over 100,000 children and adults across a wide range of presentations, including trauma, anxiety, PTSD, autism spectrum, sensory processing differences, and chronic stress and can be used in support of other therapies.
What does it actually look like?
What does it actually look like?
What does it actually look like?
The SSP contains 5 hours of music which you listen to via headphones. The amount of time spent listening to the SSP in any given session is specifically titrated to each person. Usually starting out around just a few minutes, with some eventually increasing their listening up to around 10-15 minutes at a time. At first, all listening is done alongside a certified provider. This is important because the protocol can sometimes surface emotions or physical sensations as the nervous system begins to shift and having a trained clinician present means you're supported throughout the process. Once we have a clear picture of how your nervous system responds to the intervention, solo listening in addition to your sessions becomes possible.
From there, we go at your pace. Some people move through the program more slowly than others. Your listening plan is co-created between you and your provider at the pace that is right for you. The SSP is a tool which is incorporated to support your therapeutic goals and is part of an ongoing conversation about what your nervous system needs and what becomes possible when it feels safer.
Meet Our Certified SSP Provider
Liz Johnson
In her practice, Liz integrates somatic approaches with a psychodynamic lens. She brings a body-based and autonomic nervous system perspective to therapy, helping clients understand how chronic stress, trauma, and past experiences can leave the body stuck in survival mode. Her work may include approaches such as biofeedback, breathwork, meditation, and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), with the goal of helping clients build a greater sense of safety, regulation, and connection in their bodies.