Polyvagal theory/ safe and sound protocol

Hey folks- anyone have experiences they’d be willing to share with the “safe and sound protocol?” It’s supposed to be rooted in polyvagal theory and requires the user to listen to “special” music and hour a day for 5 days. I’m having trouble finding information on it for adults (most of what I see is in pediatrics)

This sounds very interesting, replying to bump the thread upwards, I'm interested in this topic, too.

Sounds very interesting but I have never heard if it.

i'm familiar with Porges ployvagal theory, but i'm not familiar with his 'safe and sound protocol'. just wondering if you would share what got you interested in seeking info about it?

Sure My new psychiatrist/ therapist has recommended I try the SSP. I had a general base of knowledge about polyvagal theory beforehand, and am actually helping run a CE course on pediatric applications of polyvagal theory (not teaching or anything).

I've seen a lot of examples of children using it, but not many adults. I was wondering if anyone might be able to share experiences or perspectives. I'm easily skeptical, but I've also gained a lot from trying things that make me uncomfortable, so im open to it.

thanks for elaborating. what symptoms does your T/Pdoc recommend that you use this for? have you tried it yet?

i'm always interested in hearing about others experiences with what would be considered 'alternative methods', especially those that are geared towards improving/relieving trauma symptoms. i personally have had fantastic results from doing neurofeedback therapy in reducing my overall truama symptoms and calming my dysregulation.

Thank you! He talked about it helping me move from being primarily in the sympathetic ns to more parasympathetic and for misophonia (which I have but have never attempted to treat. I think the end all is that he thinks it might help me engage more in therapy. I have not tried it yet, I think I will in the next couple of weeks.

I want to look into neuro feedback more. With my last therapist EMDR was really helpful.

i hope you will update us when you do this. let us know how it goes and what the overall experince was like

if you ever decided to look further into NFB, please don't hesitate to PM me. i'm happy to share info about my experiences with it or try to answer any questions you may have.

There is a clinical trial in Indiana Examining the Effects of Processed Music on Chronic Pain - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

And here's what he's doing with misophonia What Causes Misophonia? | The Polyvagal Theory

I was able to find that study. I don’t have chronic pain, but it’s still interesting to see the results.

Have you tried this protocol?

I will, thank you!

Actually, just today my therapist (PhD psychologist) mentioned this and explained it. Apparently she is recently trained in this method as an adjunctive therapy...and is excited about the potential benefits for trauma clients (and others). We will be doing the 5 hour listening protocol in the near future. I'm looking forward to trying it...and I'm normally a bit hesitant about such things. But her explanation piqued my interest

Hey, just wanted to let you know that though I haven't seen pdoc again yet, I've been reading the polyvagal theory pocket guide and it's been really helpful in deciding that it's something I might want to try. I'd recommend the read.

Does that book include practical exercises /tools as well or is it only theory?

Mostly theory as well as talking about the listening protocol that he developed. I think it’s helpful for someone who wants to understand what’s going on with themselves, but it’s mostly geared toward therapists.

Thank you for the reply

Update: just did day one: the music was a bit cheesey but there wasn’t anything aversive about it by any means. I was a bit impatient at first but ended up relaxing and getting through it without feeling like it was dragging along. I’ll post another update if I start noticing any changes in how I feel over the course of the next few days.

This sounds interesting, keep us updated!

Thanks for the update. I'll be trying this in a few weeks myself. May I ask how the session was structured? Were you simply sitting there listening to the music on earphones while your therapist sat there watching you (that seems like it will be awkward)? My therapist mentioned that the client could do a simple, relaxing activity while listening...like coloring, knitting, sand tray, or whatever their favorite relaxing "mindless" activity might be...just nothing that required much focus. Since she suggested it, I am planning to do some light sketching/doodling with my colored pencils or something of that sort.

Cool! I’m interested in learning how you experience it. He just sent me home either the kit and I’m doing it on my own time. Today I laid on my couch and mindlessly scrolled through Instagram. Are you going into your therapists office 5 days in a row? I honesty wouldn’t have done it if it means paying for 5 sessions in a week, would be nice to have the structure of it though.

Can I ask what your hopes for the outcomes are?

Thanks for your reply, Banjolin!

No I definitely won't be going five days straight, but I will be doing the listening protocol in my regular sessions (which are currently twice per week)....and she mentioned possibly taking it home for the remaining three days. But she wasn't sure yet.

I do hope she lets me take it home to finish. I'd rather not spend five sessions on this. However, if there are even small improvements/changes as a result of five hours of listening to cheesy music then I suppose it's worth it...though I'm not looking forward to sitting in the office with her staring at me for an hour. I told her she will need to find some way to keep herself busy. Ha! Personally, I'll use the "opportunity" to work on one of my lovely adult coloring books that I'm usually too busy adulting to make time for.

Anyway, I might send you a private message with more details later when I get home from work. In short, there are several issues/symptoms that she's hoping this may help with. We shall see.

Thanks again

Back again for another update! Today I completed day 3/5 of the protocol. To be honest, I can't be sure if the agent of change is a new medication or the SSP but something is working well for me. I finished the third listening session before getting ready for the day. I found myself able and happy to talk to people WAY more than I usually am. It was honestly one of the best feeling days I've had. I was able to talk freely in conversations without really thinking about it, when usually everything I say (to people I'm not super comfortable with) is premeditated, forced and makes me anxious.

Again, I don't know what the factor is that made me so much more engaged today, but its totally possible the SSP was helpful.