Safe and Sound Protocol for an overloaded nervous system
If you often feel overwhelmed, on edge or disconnected from yourself and others, your nervous system may be stuck in survival mode. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a listening program designed to help it settle, so ordinary life stops registering as a threat.
- Program fee$775, sliding scale available
- Listening5 hours in total
- Each sittingAbout 15 minutes
- ProvidersKelsey Bennett & Mark Whitney
Music filtered to sound like safety
The SSP was developed by Dr. Stephen Porges and is based on his Polyvagal Theory, which looks at how the nervous system responds to stress, safety and connection.
Many people, especially those who have lived through trauma or chronic stress, or who are neurodivergent, spend a lot of their time on high alert without realizing it. That can show up as constant tension, emotional reactivity, sensitivity to sound, or a hard time feeling close to people.
The SSP uses specially filtered music that emphasizes the frequency range of the human voice. According to Polyvagal Theory, that is the range our nervous system listens to when deciding whether we are safe. Over time the listening is meant to help your body shift out of survival mode, making calm, focus and connection easier to reach. It is often used alongside trauma therapy or as preparation for EMDR.
Five hours of listening, spread over several weeks
The listening happens in short sittings through the MyUnyte app, in a calm and distraction-free space. Your therapist builds the plan with you and adjusts it as you go. Here is one way the program can be paced.
- IntakeGoals, history and your listening plan
- Hour 14 sittings of about 15 minutes
- Check-inHow your body is responding
- Hour 24 sittings
- Hour 34 sittings
- Check-inSlow down or keep going
- Hour 44 sittings
- Hour 54 sittings
- Check-inNotice what has shifted
- IntegrationWhat changed and what comes next
Before you listen
The intake session covers what brought you in, how your nervous system tends to react, and what you’re hoping changes. From there you get a listening plan that fits you.
While you listen
You listen at home, a little at a time, somewhere calm where you won’t be interrupted. Check-in sessions let us slow the pace if you feel stirred up, or keep going if it’s sitting well.
After the last hour
The final integration session looks at what has shifted and what’s next. Changes often show up over the days and weeks after listening, so we keep paying attention after the music ends.
Your plan may look different from this. Many people go slower, and that’s fine. Results vary from person to person.
Who tends to come to us for SSP
People most often try the protocol when their body seems to stay on high alert, or shut down, even when they know they’re safe.
- Anxiety and depression, when worry and low mood won’t settle
- Trauma and PTSD, when your body still reacts as if the danger hasn’t passed
- Neurodivergence, including sensory overload with autism, ADHD and sound sensitivity
- Chronic stress and burnout, when rest doesn’t feel restful anymore
- Relational and attachment wounds, when closeness feels risky even with people you trust
SSP often pairs well with anxiety therapy and with somatic work. It isn’t a stand-alone fix, and we use it as one part of therapy.
$775
for the full program, with a sliding scale available. Ask about it in your free consultation.
What’s included
- 1Intake session. A personalized assessment of your needs and goals.
- 3Check-in sessions. Support and adjustments to your pacing throughout the program.
- 1Final integration session. Wrap-up, reflection and next steps.
- +MyUnyte app subscription. Full access to the SSP listening library for the length of your program.
The listening works below the level of conscious thought, which is part of why it can help when talking on its own hasn’t.
SSP providers in Denver, Boulder and online
Kelsey Bennett, LPC
Kelsey uses the protocol as part of an integrated approach to trauma and nervous system regulation. She sees clients in person in Boulder and Denver and online across Colorado. Her work with SSP is careful and paced, and she treats it as one part of therapy.
Read Kelsey’s bio →
Mark Whitney, LPC, ACS
Mark uses SSP alongside parts work and EMDR for clients whose nervous system is stuck on high alert or in shutdown, including people working through anxiety, people pleasing and religious trauma. He works online anywhere in Colorado, so the whole program can happen from home.
Read Mark’s bio →What people ask about SSP
SSP works with the autonomic nervous system, below the level of thinking things through. It doesn’t require you to talk about traumatic experiences, and it is often used to prepare for, or support, other trauma work like EMDR.
The full program is $775, with a sliding scale available. That includes an intake session, three check-in sessions, a final integration session and a MyUnyte app subscription for the length of the program.
No. SSP was originally developed with children in mind and is widely used with them, but at Full Bloom we offer it to adults 18 and older. If you’re asking for your child, call anyway and we’ll help you find a provider who works with kids.
Yes. You listen through the MyUnyte app at home and meet with your therapist by video for check-ins. Mark Whitney works online anywhere in Colorado, and Kelsey Bennett offers SSP in person in Boulder and Denver or online.
Responses vary. Some people feel very little at first. Others notice small shifts in mood, energy or sensitivity, and some feel stirred up, which is one reason the check-ins matter. The biggest changes often show up in the days and weeks after listening.
Yes, and many people do. If you’re already seeing one of our therapists, SSP can be woven into that work. If you’re seeing someone elsewhere, we can talk about how the program would fit alongside it.
Your nervous system can learn to feel safe
If you’re often on edge, easily overwhelmed, or unable to settle even when you know you’re safe, SSP may be worth exploring. Start with a free 15-minute consultation.
Schedule a Free Consultation