Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP)
A Simple, Gentle Way to Regulate Your Nervous System And Feel Like Yourself Again
If your nervous system has been stuck in survival mode; constantly bracing, scanning, or running on empty, there is a gentle way to shift back into balance. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a simple, music-based intervention designed to help your body move from stress and defense into a calmer, more connected state. Using specially filtered sound frequencies grounded in Polyvagal Theory, SSP supports healthier vagus nerve function so your system can finally settle, feel safe, and reconnect.
Here’s the deal: your vagus nerve is basically the body’s communication superhighway between your brain and major organs. It influences everything from digestion to emotional balance to how safe you feel around other people. When it’s well-regulated, stress feels easier to manage and it becomes much simpler to bounce back after challenges. But when it’s not? Everyday life gets harder; sleep, focus, relationships, sensory input, all of it.
SSP helps gently tune your system back toward safety and connection, using curated music that delivers subtle cues your brain recognizes as “you’re okay now.”
How SSP Works
The program uses filtered music delivered through headphones, emphasizing the same frequencies we hear in human speech; the sounds the nervous system naturally interprets as safe. As you listen, these cues help shift your system out of fight, flight, or freeze and into a more grounded, regulated state. You’re essentially giving your nervous system a gentle workout: supporting your vagal pathways, engaging the social engagement system, and helping your mind and body reconnect. Most programs include about five hours of listening, paced slowly so your system feels supported instead of overwhelmed. No force. No pushing. Just subtle, steady regulation.
Why Nervous System Regulation Matters
When the nervous system is stuck in defense, people commonly struggle with sleep, digestion, breathing patterns, mental clarity, sensory overload, emotional intensity, and social connection. It’s not because you’re “not trying hard enough” your body is literally operating from a threat state. Once regulation returns, everything shifts. Stress becomes easier to navigate. Learning and creativity come back online. Emotional balance feels more accessible. Connection feels safer. And daily life becomes far more manageable.
Who SSP May Help
We see children, teens, and adults benefit from SSP when they’re dealing with stress, anxiety, trauma-related activation, sensory or auditory sensitivities, attention or hyperactivity challenges, chronic pain, or other regulation-based concerns. SSP is a wellness intervention delivered by a trained provider, and many people find it deeply supportive alongside other therapies.
Your Experience at Our Clinic
We start with a personalized screening to understand your goals, your sensitivities, and what your nervous system needs right now. Then we design a short, comfortable listening plan: often 5–30 minutes per session to keep things steady and safe. When you’re ready, you put on your headphones, settle in, and listen. That’s it.
Sessions can be done in-person, at home under our guidance, or a blend of both. Throughout the process, we check in with you, track shifts in sleep, stress tolerance, social ease, and focus, and integrate SSP with any other therapies you’re receiving; whether that’s EMDR, IFS, CBT, OT, PT, or psychedelic-assisted therapy.
What Clients Commonly Notice
Most people report feeling calmer and more centered, less overwhelmed by daily stress, and more able to connect socially. Others notice improved sleep, clearer thinking, better sensory tolerance, or a greater ability to stay grounded during challenges. These experiences align with real-world evidence and clinical findings showing improvements in mood, trauma-related symptoms, and overall psychosocial functioning after SSP.
Flexible Programs & Music Options
SSP includes multiple listening pathways—popular, classical, instrumental, ambient, vocal, non-vocal, and trauma-sensitive playlists—so we choose what best matches your nervous system. And because life is busy and healing is personal, your program can be completed in our clinic, at home with support, or both.
Is SSP Right for You?
If you’re craving more calm, more regulation, and more capacity to handle life without getting overwhelmed, SSP may be exactly the foundation your nervous system has been needing. Whether you're seeking emotional balance, sensory support, stress recovery, or deeper connection—for yourself or your child—we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Reach out to us today and let’s explore whether SSP is the right fit for your healing and your goals.
Get Started With SSP Today
At our clinic, the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is offered directly by Dr. Katherine Souza, an integrative physician with training in naturopathic and Chinese medicine who specializes in patient-centered, accessible, whole-person care.
Dr. Souza weaves SSP into her holistic approach, alongside naturopathic & herbal medicines, to help patients regulate their nervous systems and reconnect with a deeper sense of safety and ease.
To get started with SSP, book a free 15-minute consultation call by clicking the button below.
What Working With Us Looks Like
STEP 1: Personalized Screening & Gentle Pacing
We talk through your goals, sensitivities, and current therapies. Then we create a listening plan; short, comfortable sessions that keep your system safe and grounded.
STEP 2: Guided Listening
Plug in your headphones and listen. You let your body do the rest. Sessions can be in-clinic, at home, or a blend of both.
STEP 3: Integration & Real Support
We check in. We track shifts (sleep, stress tolerance, social ease, focus).We integrate SSP alongside your other therapies—EMDR, IFS, CBT, OT, PT, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and more.