Sometimes healing needs to begin with the nervous system.
You can understand your patterns. You can know your triggers. You can practice coping skills, mindfulness, grounding, and self-care… and still find that your body reacts as though danger is just around the corner.
That’s because regulation isn’t only something we think our way into.
The Safe and Sound Protocol™ (SSP) and Rest and Restore Protocol™ (RRP) are sound-based listening therapies designed to support the autonomic nervous system. Both are informed by the work of Dr. Stephen Porges, originator of Polyvagal Theory, and are delivered through the Unyte Health platform under the guidance of a trained provider.
These programs offer a gentle, body-up approach to supporting regulation – helping create the physiological conditions in which safety, connection, restoration, and therapeutic growth may become more accessible.
I offer SSP and RRP through a guided independent listening model, allowing you to complete most of your listening from the comfort of your own home while still receiving professional oversight, individualized pacing, and support throughout the process.
The Safe and Sound Protocol™ (SSP)
Helping the nervous system become more available for safety and connection
When the nervous system has learned to expect danger, it can become incredibly good at protecting us.
Sometimes too good.
We may find ourselves scanning our environment, reacting strongly to sounds or sensations, becoming overwhelmed easily, shutting down, struggling to connect with others, or remaining physiologically activated even when we intellectually know we’re safe.
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a listening-based intervention developed by Dr. Stephen Porges and informed by Polyvagal Theory. Through specially filtered music delivered through headphones, SSP is designed to exercise and support neural pathways associated with autonomic regulation, auditory processing, and social engagement.
Rather than asking you to consciously convince yourself that you are safe, SSP works from the body upward, providing auditory cues intended to help the nervous system become more available for regulation, connection, and engagement.
What might SSP support?
Everyone responds differently, and no particular outcome can be guaranteed. Research, clinical experience, and reports from listeners suggest that SSP may support changes in areas including:
- nervous system regulation and resilience
- anxiety and feelings of hypervigilance
- emotional regulation
- sensory and auditory sensitivity
- ability to tolerate busy or stimulating environments
- social engagement and connection
- communication and ability to read social cues
- attention, focus, and processing
- ability to navigate transitions
- stress tolerance
- greater awareness and expression of emotions
- feelings of calm, safety, and groundedness
For some people, these shifts are subtle: realizing that a sound isn’t bothering you anymore, recovering from stress more quickly, feeling more comfortable in conversation, or noticing that situations that once overwhelmed you require less effort.
The goal isn’t to force your nervous system to relax.
It’s to create conditions that may help your nervous system discover that it has more choices available to it.
The Rest and Restore Protocol™ (RRP)
Supporting the body’s capacity to settle, restore, and recover
Sometimes the nervous system doesn’t need more insight.
It needs rest.
Chronic stress, prolonged activation, trauma, caregiving, burnout, illness, disrupted sleep, and simply living in a demanding world can make it difficult for the body to fully settle, even when we desperately want it to.
The Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP) is a sound-based listening therapy developed by Anthony Gorry and Dr. Stephen Porges. It uses specially designed rhythmic soundscapes to support homeostasis: the body’s ongoing process of returning toward internal physiological balance.
Where SSP focuses strongly on safety, sensory processing, and social engagement, RRP emphasizes restoration, recovery, physiological settling, and connection with the body.
RRP is delivered as a titrated 10-session listening program and can be used independently or alongside psychotherapy and other restorative or body-based approaches.
What might RRP support?
RRP may be particularly helpful when stress seems to have become embodied, when your system has difficulty finding its way back to rest after the stressful event has ended.
It is designed to support areas such as:
- chronic stress and fatigue
- ability to settle and relax
- sleep and restorative rest
- physiological balance
- digestive comfort
- emotional awareness
- anxiety and overwhelm
- recovery following stress
- greater comfort noticing sensations within the body
- feelings of groundedness and steadiness
- clarity and focus
- capacity to engage more fully in therapeutic work
Early pilot data reported by Unyte has also found improvements among participants experiencing clinically significant symptoms related to anxiety, insomnia, depression, and trauma. These findings are promising but should not be interpreted as a guarantee that RRP will treat or resolve any particular mental health or medical condition.
RRP is not simply relaxation music. The listening experience uses purpose-created, rhythmically structured soundscapes informed by behavioral neuroscience and research into autonomic regulation.
The intention is simple: to give your nervous system supported opportunities to practice restoration.
Which Program Is Right for Me?
There is some overlap between SSP and RRP, and you don’t need to figure this out by yourself.
As a general framework:
SSP may be a good starting point when your primary challenges involve safety, anxiety, hypervigilance, sensory sensitivity, emotional regulation, connection, or becoming easily overwhelmed by your environment.
RRP may be a good starting point when your system feels depleted, chronically stressed, unable to fully rest, disconnected from your body, or affected by challenges involving sleep, fatigue, physiological settling, or recovery.
Some people may ultimately benefit from experiencing both programs.
We’ll discuss your history, current nervous system patterns, goals, sensitivities, and existing supports before deciding where to begin.
Guided Independent Listening
At home, at your pace – with support along the way.
Nervous systems aren’t standardized, so I don’t believe listening protocols should be either.
My approach combines the flexibility of independent listening with professional support and individualized pacing.
Your program begins with an initial consultation and supported introduction to listening. We’ll discuss your goals, relevant history, what to expect from the program, how to create a supportive listening environment, signs that your system may want more or less input, and how to pace the program appropriately.
We’ll begin listening together so that I can help you notice your nervous system’s responses and establish a starting pace that feels manageable.
From there, most listening can happen independently at home through the Unyte Health app.
Listen. Notice. Integrate. Adjust.
After each designated period of listening, you’ll complete a brief online check-in about what you’re noticing during and between sessions.
I’ll use those check-ins to monitor your progress and help determine whether you can:
Continue → Your system appears to be integrating the listening comfortably.
Adjust → We may shorten your listening time, increase the space between sessions, or make another pacing adjustment.
Check In → Something you’re experiencing suggests that it would be helpful for us to meet before you continue.
This isn’t a program to race through.
More listening isn’t necessarily better listening.
The goal is to find the amount of input your nervous system can comfortably receive and integrate. For some people that may mean longer listening periods; for others, the most therapeutic approach may be considerably slower.
You are encouraged to notice your body’s responses rather than push through discomfort simply to complete the program.
What’s Included
Guided Independent Listening Program — $800
Your program includes:
- Up to one year of access to your selected listening program through the Unyte Health app
- Choice of Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) or Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP)
- Initial consultation and orientation
- Your first supported listening experience (takes place during your orientation)
- Individualized recommendations for pacing
- Online post-listening check-ins to track your response and progress
- Ongoing review of your listening progress
- Guidance about when to continue, slow down, pause, or schedule additional support
- Access to me throughout your listening process according to the communication guidelines we establish at the beginning of the program
Investment: $800
Add a Second Listening Program — $400
If we determine that you may benefit from experiencing both SSP and RRP, the second program can be added to your existing listening plan for:
$400
We’ll determine together when it makes sense to transition to or incorporate the additional program.
Additional Individual Sessions — $150
Some people are comfortable completing most of their program independently. Others benefit from additional support along the way.
Individual sessions can be scheduled whenever additional assessment, co-regulation, processing, troubleshooting, or pacing support would be helpful.
$150 per session
Payment Plans
I want these programs to be as financially accessible as I can reasonably make them. Payment plans are available. Please ask about payment options when you inquire.
Ready to get started? Book your initial orientation using this link. Bring your over the ear headphones, compatible with your cell phone, and make sure you’re ready to join your session on a different device so that you can start listening to the protocol in session!
What Does Listening Look Like?
Listening takes place through the Unyte Health app using compatible over-ear headphones.
You don’t need to meditate, achieve a particular state, or “do” anything perfectly while you listen.
Depending on the program and your individualized plan, you may listen while resting or participating in quiet, regulating activities. We’ll talk about what kinds of activities are appropriate before you begin.
Most importantly, listening happens at the pace your nervous system can integrate.
Your experience may not look like someone else’s, and that’s okay.
Nervous system work is rarely linear. You may notice changes while you’re listening, later that day, or gradually over the weeks that follow. Part of our work together is learning to notice those changes without judging or forcing them.
Who Can Participate?
SSP and RRP may be appropriate for people who are already participating in psychotherapy as well as individuals seeking a professionally guided nervous system support program.
You do not have to become an ongoing psychotherapy client in order to participate.
Before beginning, we’ll determine whether independent listening is appropriate for you and whether there are circumstances that suggest you would benefit from additional clinical support or a different level of care during the process.
Because these programs can affect nervous system state, they should be delivered thoughtfully and under the guidance of an appropriately trained provider.
A Different Kind of Nervous System Work
So much of healing asks us to work from the top down:
Understand it.
Name it.
Challenge it.
Talk about it.
Think differently.
Those approaches can be incredibly valuable.
But sometimes your mind already understands… and your body hasn’t gotten the message yet.
SSP and RRP offer another doorway into the work.
Rather than asking your nervous system to simply believe that it is safe enough to connect, rest, or recover, we can begin creating experiences that may help your body practice those states.
Slowly.
Gently.
At the pace your system is ready for.
Ready to explore whether SSP or RRP might be a good fit for you?
Schedule your initial consultation to talk about your goals, your nervous system, and which listening program is the best place for you to begin.
If you’ve still got questions, FAQs can be found here!
Important Information
The Safe and Sound Protocol™ and Rest and Restore Protocol™ are provider-guided listening interventions and are not standalone medical or psychological treatments. Individual responses vary, and participation does not guarantee improvement in any specific symptom or condition.
These programs are not intended to replace psychotherapy, medical care, psychiatric care, or emergency mental health services. If you are currently receiving medical or mental health treatment, you should continue working with your existing providers as appropriate.
Participation begins with an individualized assessment to determine whether the program and independent listening format are appropriate for you.
In 2020, Amanda received the honorable designation of Key Provider of the Safe and Sound Protocol by the Unyte organization thanks to her innovative outreach and utilization of the Safe and Sound Protocol within her community. She is an active part of the iLS pilot program, striving to serve the underserved across the globe.
More information can be found on the iLS website here: https://integratedlistening.com/ssp-safe-sound-protocol/
