Safe & Sound Protocol Therapy in Ontario
Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a therapy using a specially filtered music program that helps us with regulating the vagus nerve for reduced anxiety, dysregulation, and stress and more moments of calm.
Take the first step and schedule an online SSP Therapy consultation with a practitioner at Healing Journey.
About Online Safe and Sound Protocol Therapy (SSP) at Healing Journey
Aden Cosgrove, MACP, RSW, C.C.C. is offering SSP to people in Canada. Safe and Sound Protocol is one of the most amazing modalities that we have come across & can be very effective for trauma, especially in collaboration with other therapy modalities.
What is Safe and Sound Protocol Therapy?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a passive modality using a specially filtered music program that helps us reach the parts of the brain that need regulating for improved function and behavior. The SSP music is designed to shift the nervous system into a calmer state, by the influence to the Vagus Nerve, which is the longest Cranial nerve in our bodies.
Improving Vagal tone allows us to feel safe and regulated, which allows for greater social engagement, flexible thinking and improves ability to listen to learn and try new things, instead of having an automatic defensive or fearful response.
Improving auditory and language processing also comes from the SSP, due to presentation of specific frequencies of sounds to the auditory pathways and volume changes in the music that influence the middle ear muscles to be able to filter out background noise, to better hear the person speaking. Physiological state strongly influences the expression of behavioral, mental, and physical problems.
Many people’s Autonomic Nervous Systems are heightened; they spend more time in that Sympathetic (fight/flight) response or shut down (freeze/Dorsal Vagal) response; all which influences overall harmony and happiness in life. The SSP helps to strengthen our parasympathetic functioning; to allow our bodies to improve rest and digestion for health and growth of the body and brain. The SSP is a neural exercise; it’s an “opener” so other therapeutic activities that follow are more effective and impactful.
Online Safe and Sound Protocol Therapy at Healing Journey comes in three formats:
Safe and Sound Protocol comes in three formats: Connect, Core, and Balance.
Connect does not have filtration and can be listened to as much as you want. This can be helpful for self-care, relaxation, and deciding which playlist would work best for you for Core.
Core is the main program and can only be listened to up to a total of 5 hours. How long this takes is dependent on your autonomic nervous system and what it can handle which will be something that you decide with your worker.
Balance is a program that can be done after the Core program and does not have to be listened to in sequence. This program helps increase and maintain your progress after Core.
However, please note that your autonomic nervous system may not be able to handle longer listening sessions and that is okay. There are many different choices for playlists now and you can decide with your worker which playlist would be the best fit for you.
Connect is something you can listen to anytime for relaxation. Monitoring is included in this price so note that your worker will be watching your progress through the Unyte-iLs database.
Your helper reserves the right to suspend your account if you are using the account in a way that was not prescribed. Harm can be done to persons who are not monitored by a helper and transparency on your end is key!
Common Safe and Sound Protocol side effects:
- Hearing changes in terms of sensitivity, comprehending speech, and reactivity to noises
- Increased sensation in face and head
- Agitation/Irritability
- Intense dreams
- Anxiety
- Grief due to lack of connection
- Emotions come up during protocol
- Vision changes (changes in brightness)
- Feeling pulse in ear
Less frequent SSP side effects reported:
- Facial flushing
- Clenched jaw
- Migraines
- Sinus issues
- Trauma recall
Unyte iLs Safe & Sound Protocol
Exploring SSP Balance
What to expect from Safe & Sound Protocol
Aden’s Personal Experience with SSP
I always try every therapeutic modality myself before recommending it to a client, and I had an excellent experience with SSP. I tried SSP while doing EMDR and talk therapy and it changed my life.
As a SSP practitioner, I have access to the content so I plan to do the SSP every 6-8 weeks to see what my results are and to share with you.
The experience doing SSP was enjoyable but the beneficial changes were life changing! I have been counting down the days until I can do it again because since then, I had some crises and I am dysregulated again!
I had noticed that there are some benefits that are short and some that are more long term. I think it is different for everybody. What I have been really loving as a benefit is this self-awareness within my own body. My ADHD symptoms are more obvious to me now and that makes it easier to manage them. I still do not have any car sickness and the test of this was a real one that would usually have gotten me nauseous. Lots of good things to report!
Here are my notes from my experience:
Safe and Sound Protocol is such a new modality but the results that I gained were so incredible that I am really excited about sharing this with folx!
My experience was very good and I felt really good in my mind and body during the experience. I noticed that my jaw would clench here and there during the listening experience. I could sometimes feel a slight pulse in my ear. I became emotional at the same song in hour 3 and 5. My autonomic nervous system was really clear with me why this was, it wanted me to have more adequate social support around me.
Changes in me during and after the SSP experience:
⁃ Increased ability to control vagal break and notice it.
⁃ Increase in comfortability with transitions between survival and safety states.
⁃ Waking up earlier, easier to wake up, sometimes not needing an alarm clock to wake up (incredibly rare for me).
⁃ Diversity in what foods I would eat and it became easier to feed myself (I struggle with this due to my stomach issues/trauma).
⁃ Feeling more of a rhythm/attunement with myself and more being in safety more than ever before.
⁃ Wanting to connect with others and feeling a drive to do this.
⁃ Focus is much better than it was. I am able to think about things in a different way that never existed before. I’m figuring out things easier and able to accommodate myself with my ADHD more. ⁃ I am even more open and flexible than I was before in my thinking about things. I allow more compassion in for myself now.
⁃ Motion sickness that I used to get in cars and other moving vehicles seems to have disappeared. ⁃ Less task paralysis, easier to get into a rhythm of doing things that are normally extremely hard for me.
– Less triggers around things that would normally trigger me. I’m getting angry less, frustrated less, and in safety generally a lot more.
– I have a fear of picking up the phone and making a call – this has always been the case no matter how many times I did it. This fear has somehow disappeared!!!
Online Safe & Sound Protocol for Professionals
If you are in the counselling field or a healthcare professional you may already have a good command of the autonomic nervous system, but what do you do after a big burnout or crisis? After we are dysregulated, it can be hard to get back to our normal. However, SSP has been helpful to me as a professional, with or without therapy, in regulating my ANS.
Especially after I have been dysregulated for a period of time, I have a hard time hearing safety cues, and I deeply miss doing SSP! SSP is something that can be done every 6 to 8 weeks to keep the ANS regulated. Though it is not necessary to do it this often, I myself complete it every 6 to 8 weeks as I do experience high levels of stress and crisis related to my professional life.
Please reach out, and I can tell you more about how SSP can work for your particular situation.
Pricing
Program costs below are inclusive of the Safe and Sound Protocol Core program plus a psychoeducational session that includes mapping of your autonomic nervous system (ANS) and instructions for use of the program for all Healing Journey clients.
Delivery
This is a remote-access virtual-based program that is intermittently observed but not synchronously monitored by your helper. Your helper is interactive in this process via regular check-ins, and communication by you is necessary while progressing through this program.
Aden checks in with your via email after Hour 1, during Hour 3, and after Hour 5. After you complete the SSP Core, SSP Balance will be released to you if that is the treatment plan agreed to and there is enough time in the subscription. Doing screeners pre- and post-treatment will show the outcomes more clearly and this can be part of the treatment plan as well.
The psychoeducational session is a requirement for people who have not done Safe and Sound Protocol before. If you have done Safe and Sound Protocol before, please reach out via email as there may be specialty pricing for you.
Psychoeducational Session
This is 75 minutes and during this session, they will talk about Safe and Sound Protocol and Aden will provide psychoeducation about polyvagal theory and the autonomic nervous system. Then, they will map out your autonomic nervous system which will help you track when trauma or calm states come up for you. They will observe you listening to the Core program for 5 minutes to see if anything comes up for you and then they will decide what your prescription will be for SSP Core.
Safe and Sound Protocol Pricing
Current Healing Journey Clients:
Aden is pleased to offer specialty pricing for current Healing Journey clients for the year or within certain time frames. Please contact them directly to discuss access and costs. If you have already done SSP previously with Aden, you will receive speciality pricing for the next time you want to do the program or if you would like to have yearly access to the programs.
New Healing Journey Clients:
For Adults (18 years or older):
- Introductory 3-month access to SSP Core: $450 (includes 75-minute psychoeducational session)
- 3-month access to SSP Balance after SSP Core: $200
- Ongoing 1-month access after subscription ends: $50
* Please reach out to Aden at aden@healingjourneycounselling.ca to come up with a specialty plan for you, you and your partner(s), you and your (chosen) family members, your friends, or community members*
Please Note
You can pay in monthly payments or in lump sum depending on what works best for you financially.
Many healthcare plans will provide partial to full coverage for many of these services as they are provided by a registered social worker. Check with your personal plan administrator to see what you may qualify for.
Ready to begin your journey?
Book a consultation with a trained online counsellor now and take the first step on your Healing Journey!
