Safe and Sound

A Polyvagal Approach for Connection, Change, and Healing
Paperback Book
$20.99
Paperback Book
$20.99
eBook
$20.99

In this work from Polyvagal Theory pioneer Dr. Stephen Porges, you’ll find not only the origin and best practices of a groundbreaking new listening therapy—the Safe and Sound Protocol—but also real-life stories of transformation and healing on topics including addiction, COVID recovery, living with Parkinson’s disease, neurodivergence, and more.

Full Description

From Polyvagal Theory pioneer Dr. Stephen Porges comes a new resource sharing the origin and best practices of his groundbreaking new protocol, and highlighting real-life stories of transformation and healing. 

We all want to live and share our truth, but when we don’t feel safe, it can be impossible to fully express or even know who we really are. The nervous system impacts daily well-being, to our benefit or detriment. Understanding how may be key to truly knowing yourself and better supporting the challenges holding you back. “When the nervous system regains its capacity to feel safe,” say Porges and Onderko, “individuals can express themselves genuinely, engage comfortably with others, and embrace a life of greater openness and ease.”

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a groundbreaking therapy based in Polyvagal Theory, which looks at the role the autonomic nervous system and vagus nerve play in regulating health and behavior. SSP involves listening to music that’s been filtered to prioritize frequencies of human speech, providing auditory input that enables the nervous system to reset to its homeostatic state.

Porges and Onderko offer a glimpse into this innovative approach, highlighting not only the origin of SSP and its best practices but also real-life stories of transformation. They showcase clinical evidence demonstrating SSP’s impact on emotional dysregulation, social interaction difficulty, and auditory sensitivity, providing a comprehensive understanding of its therapeutic potential. Some features and conditions addressed include:

  • Depression
  • Perfectionism
  • Addiction
  • Suicidal ideation
  • COVID recovery
  • Navigating gender identity
  • Living with Parkinson’s disease
  • Hypermobility
  • Autism
  • ADHD
  • Dyslexia

Whether patient, family member, friend, or clinician, you’ll find a deeper understanding of the nervous system and tools for a more resilient experience. Illustrating the incredible range of application and how autonomic regulation can lead to significant improvements—from stress and anxiety to grief and trauma—Safe and Sound demonstrates how SSP can promote a state of safety and calm, facilitating the foundation for long-awaited healing.

Format Details
Paperback Book eBook
Contents Paperback Book (352 pages) eBook (352 pages)
Dimensions 6 x 9 inches
Product Code BK06874 BK06874W
ISBN Number 978-1-64963-234-0 978-1-64963-235-7
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Stephen Porges PhD

About Stephen Porges PhD

Stephen W. Porges, PhD, has been an academic for more than 50 years and currently holds positions as a distinguished university scientist at Indiana University, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers that have been cited in more than 58,000 peer-reviewed papers, and he holds several patents related to technologies involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state. Stephen also served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, which emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems, and he is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol, which is the focus of this book. In collaboration with Anthony Gorry, he cocreated an acoustic intervention, the Rest and Restore Protocol, engineered to support homeostatic functions, and with Karen Onderko, Deb Dana, and Randall Redfield, he founded the Polyvagal Institute.

Karen Onderko

About Karen Onderko

Karen Onderko is committed to advancing the understanding of the nervous system through Polyvagal Theory to enhance therapeutic care and foster greater connection and acceptance among individuals. She was instrumental in transitioning Dr. Porges’s Safe and Sound Protocol from the research laboratory into practical, widespread use as an accessible tool now available to therapists across various disciplines worldwide. Karen was the director of research and education for Integrated Listening Systems and Unyte Health and is a cofounder and current board member of the Polyvagal Institute. She serves on the board of directors for Developmental FX and has served as a board member for Aspen Brain Institute, Denver Film Society, Colorado Academy, and Stanley British Primary School. Before her work in neuroscience, she spent the first half of her career specializing in financial risk management, teaching the use of derivatives to international and central bankers, marketing financial products to banks and corporations, and managing an options business to ensure the safety of retirement investments. Karen holds a degree from Georgetown University and lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and three daughters.

Author photo © Marea Evans Photography

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