Safe and Sound Protocol

What Is Physical Therapy?

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an evidence-based listening therapy designed to reduce sound sensitivities and improve auditory processing, behavioral state regulation, and social engagement behaviors through filtered music.

What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an evidence-based listening therapy designed to help regulate the nervous system. It helps to reduce sound sensitivities and improve auditory processing, behavioral state regulation, and social engagement behaviors through filtered music. As a result, children are able to form deeper connections with themselves, people, and their environment.

The SSP involves listening to specially filtered music through headphones. The listening is done in person in clinic, or remotely in the child’s home. The total listening time is 5 hours, which is broken up into separate listening sessions.

As successive listening sessions are completed, the middle ear muscles are progressively trained
to contract and tighten the eardrum, allowing middle frequencies of sound to be better perceived. These middle frequencies highlight the frequency range of human voice, sending cues of safety through the cranial nerves associated with the social engagement system.

Want to know more about this protocol, what to expect, and how it can help your child?

Safe and Sound Protocol FAQ

What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a non-invasive listening intervention designed to help you feel better, think better, and connect better. The Safe and Sound Protocol is an application of Polyvagal Theory which was developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, a Distinguished University Scientist and Professor of Psychiatry, after decades of research on the human nervous system.

How Does Safe and Sound Protocol Work?

The Safe and Sound Protocol works by exposing the nervous system to the full range of the human voice by delivering specially treated popular music through headphones.

You download the free SSP app to your phone and listen to music using headphones. The music has been specially treated to deliver a “reset” to your poly-vagal nervous system. There are different playlists to choose from. Kids can listen to music from popular Disney films.

The music you are listening to has been specially treated to expose the part of your hearing system that connects to the fight/flight/freeze part of your nervous system, while you are in a calm environment and in “co-regulation” with a therapist or support person. This serves to “re-tune” or reset your nervous system so that it is less easily triggered and you feel safer on a subconscious level, making it easier for you to feel better, think better and connect better with others.

What Can the Safe and Sound Protocol Help with?

The Safe and Sound Protocol helps children to better regulate their emotions and the behaviors that may be exhibited due to having difficulty regulating their emotions, as well as helping them to better engage socially. This means that it is appropriate to use the Safe and Sound Protocol to complement other therapies for ADHD, Anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Trauma-related difficulties, and Auditory Sensitivities.

How is the Safe and Sound Protocol delivered?

Delivery of the Safe and Sound Protocol can be done in person with your therapist or remotely in your home. If your child is completing the Safe and Sound Protocol at home, we work with you to create the environment for your child’s listening sessions.

What does the music sound like?

The music is specially filtered so that it enhances tone changes within the frequency range of the human voice, training the auditory processing system to attune to cues of safety. There are a variety of playlists, including popular songs that you may already be familiar with.

How long does it take to complete the protocol and how long does each listening session last?

The total listening time of the Safe and Sound Protocol is 5 hours. The length of time to complete the protocol varies from one individual to the next, and is dependent on the length of each listening session. Often sessions can range from 15-30 minutes. We take a “less is more” approach and go at your child’s pace. Your child’s therapist will determine and provide guidance on how long each listening session will be.

What should the listening environment look like?

Listening should be done in a quiet and calm environment with a parent, caregiver, or other supportive person present to provide encouragement and cues of safety.

What activities should or shouldn’t be done while listening?

Activities with minimal or light movement, such as drawing, coloring, puzzles, and simple art activities, are recommended. Movement is part of regulation so we don’t want to restrict movement but the movement should be low intensity.

High-intensity exercise, computer, video games, reading, and other cognitively demanding tasks, are not recommended. These types of activities can take away from the child’s ability to fully listen to the music.

What will my child experience during a listening session?

Many people complete the Safe and Sound Protocol without experiencing side effects: however, during a listening session it is possible to experience physical sensations, such as tiredness, pressure in your head, or butterflies in your stomach. If these sensations come up, the music is often paused to work on co-regulation. Co-regulation is when the therapist or parent helps the child bring the nervous system back to a calm state by providing support. You then resume the listening or end that session. Your therapist will help you monitor and notice any responses your child may have so that you can work together to maximize benefits.

Are there contraindications for the Safe and Sound Protocol?

It is not recommended to use the Safe and Sound Protocol with individuals with active or uncontrolled seizures, in active psychosis, or actively experiencing tinnitus.

Current Research and Evidence for the Safe and Sound Protocol

The Safe and Sound Protocol is a research-based and evidence-informed treatment that is
intended to be used alongside other therapies to significantly enhance their effectiveness. To review case studies of the Safe and Sound Protocol, go to this website:

Call Today to Schedule a free consultation for the Safe and Sound Protocol

Give your child the support they need to learn, play, and grow. Call us at (479) 782-1444 to schedule an evaluation today, or fill out the contact form below for more information about our services.