Repeating The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Therapy

Here is my long explanation of why I am repeating The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Therapy. I personally do not know of anyone who has NOT benefited from Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) therapy. Prior to beginning SSP in January of 2023.  I spent two weeks reading online reviews and watching testimonials on YouTube.  There was only one person out of the hundreds of reviews and testimonials I reviewed that claimed The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) didn’t work for him, but he didn’t finish all the sessions.  He was on a forum I was in corresponding with individuals sharing their Safe and Sound Protocol SSP experiences.  He wrote he experienced no benefit but did not complete the SSP therapy beyond day two. The bones in the ear are still being conditioned on day two. The real therapy portion of SSP starts on day three and goes through day five.  After being asked why he didn’t complete the therapy beyond day two, the individual who claimed no benefit ghosted the group. 

My Previous SSP Experience for Your Viewing Pleasure

What is The Safe and Sound Protocol SSP Therapy?

The Safe and Sound Protocol is an evidence-based therapeutic tool designed to reset the nervous system and return it to safety. Designed to work with other therapeutic approaches and modalities, the SSP features specially filtered music that stimulates the vagus nerve.  Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, founder of the Polyvagal Theory, the Safe and Sound Protocol is a non-invasive acoustic vagus nerve stimulator that helps individuals connect with themselves, others, and the world from a foundation of physiological safety.

How SSP Therapy is Administered

The Safe and Sound Protocol involves a total of five hours of specially filtered music that can be administered in 1-hour increments over 5 consecutive days or 30-minute increments over 10 consecutive days. Following successful completion of the intervention, individuals become better able to focus on school, work, therapy, and everyday life and experience a calm emotional and physiological state.  The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) therapy uses filtered music to train the neural network associated with listening to focus on the frequency range of the human voice.

Research has shown significant results with just five hours of intervention in the following areas:

• Auditory sensitivities
• Social and emotional difficulties
• Anxiety and trauma-related challenges
• Inattention
• Stressors that impact social engagement

Why Repeat The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Therapy?

The Safe and Sound Protocol SSP Therapy can be completed once or can be repeated after 3-6 months as necessary. SSP therapy is often repeated if:

• You experienced improvement after the first round of SSP therapy and believe going through SSP again will provide additional gains or change in the state of your nervous system regulation
• You experienced improvement after the first round of SSP therapy, but you feel the gains, or benefits, have faded.
• You experienced no shifts or changes after the first round of SSP therapy and it is observed that your nervous system may require additional work.

I feel some of my benefits have faded from my first session of SSP which was done the first week of January in 2023.  It is now September of 2023, and I am back to feeling like a 7 or 8, I believe I will experience additional benefits by repeating the therapy.

What am I Hoping to Gain After My Next Round of SSP Therapy?

Well, my therapist claims that every patient she has provided SSP therapy to has experienced at least some benefit, or relief.  She saw on average that if a person began SSP therapy with a stress/anxiety level of 10 (on a scale from 1 to 10), the first round of SSP therapy should be expected to bring them down to around a level 7 or 8.  It is recommended that The Safe and Sound Protocol be used while building skills to calm and regulate your nervous system.  This is done to prevent the nervous system from becoming dysregulated again at an unnecessarily high level quickly.

Starting SSP Therapy Round 2

I am starting round 2 of SSP therapy today, September 13, 2023.  I feel that my current state of being overwhelmed and anxious is at level 7.  Having had a very nice and long period of calm after SSP therapy in January of this year, and even more overall peace after EMDR in April and May, I want to feel that good again.  I hope to feel even calmer and more than I did then. 

I have learned to assist the regulation of my nervous system through talk therapy, setting boundaries, changing my environment, and learning to say no to things that don’t benefit me.  I struggled in the areas of boundaries and saying no.  When I start to feel anxious and overwhelmed, meditation and breathwork are what I use to return to a state of calm.  It’s not easy, and it’s not always quick.

Why The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Therapy to Begin With?

The Past

I was diagnosed with C-PTSD in January, and moderate ADHD inattentive type in July. I went through over 10 years of continuous trauma in my 30’s.  I didn’t see it as trauma at the time.  I thought life was hard, and I was dealing with it the best I knew how. I had no idea the impact that traumatic decade would have on my mind and body long term. I ended up in a shutdown state doing only the minimum to survive. This wasn’t me. I didn’t feel like me. I felt stuck, hopeless, and lost. My “frozen” state is what prompted me to do Safe and Sound Protocol Therapy for the first time in January of 2023.

The Present

Throughout the month of August, I felt a sudden negative change in my nervous system.  A lot happened in August related to the causes of my PTSD.  Legal battles were ending and a lot of changes were taking place at home and work. The overwhelm and stress felt different this time.  Prior to therapy, I was never able to feel the negative shift in my nervous system while it was happening. It was just there. Now that I am hyper-aware and intuned with my body, I can feel when my nervous system begins to dysregulate and I can feel it escalate. I don’t know which event(s) over the past month triggered the dysregulation.  There are too many variables to pinpoint what it was.  All I know is that I felt awful and was constantly on edge…AGAIN.

This Round of SSP Therapy

I’m hoping this round of SSP therapy brings me down to a 4, or lower.  After this session of SSP therapy, I will begin Brainspotting therapy.  My therapist believes I have done all I can reasonably do to not have my nervous system become so dysregulated so quickly, and out of the blue. I don’t know why I feel the way I feel.  I can’t think of a situation from the past that would cause what I’m experiencing now.  It’s possible that what triggered the dysregulation to come on so hard and fast is deep in the subconscious part of the mind.  I can see how that is possible with what I have been through in my life.

What’s Next?

I can learn to cope with the overwhelmed and anxious feelings the dysregulation brings, or I can try Brainspotting to eliminate it altogether. I have decided to go forward with Brainspotting therapy next week.  I have heard it can be super taxing on the mind and body, like EMDR, for some people.  A lot of people experience relief and peace after a few sessions without the lingering processing that happens with EMDR.  I hope to have that experience. 

My EMDR Experience

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) helped me immensely.  During EMDR I worked through life events and situations from the past that were constantly triggering my stress response.  EMDR allowed me to reprocess those memories and take the emotion and stress out of them, and as a result, I can think about those events now, and I no longer feel them as if they are currently happening.  I hope that makes sense.  EMDR is amazing.  I highly recommend it.  As of today, I feel like I’m out of events and situations that I can remember that I can reprocess using EMDR.  Whatever I’m feeling is caused by something I probably don’t remember.  The nice part about Brainspotting versus EMDR is that you can work with a feeling and not have to recall an event.  I’ll explain Brainspotting more as I go through it.

Why I am Going Forward with Brainspotting Therapy

The receptionist at my therapist’s office did Brainspotting as part of a demonstration put on by the head psychologist. She didn’t feel she had anything left to work through, similar to how I feel.  The head psychologist wanted a non-therapist to demonstrate Brainspotting to the staff members.  After the Brainspotting therapy demonstration, the receptionist experienced elimination of whatever was deep in her causing her to feel “off” now and again.  She had experienced both EMDR and SSP, but never felt such relief as she did with Brainspotting.  She said it’s the best therapy experience she’s ever had.  Stuff from her childhood and past relationships is just gone!  All the things that made her anxious and cringe just stopped. So, that is the next stop on my therapy journey.  I will be sharing my experience.  Check back soon to read all about it.