Titration & co-regulation

The SSP is a passive yet powerful tool for nervous system regulation. Because of its profound effects, I wanted an offering that allows people to feel into their own pace. Although it is a 5 hour listening program, gentle titration of the SSP over at least 1 month is necessary to avoid doing too much nervous system work too quickly.

You can think of it like over-exercising muscles that haven’t been worked out in a long time—been there! There’s a good chance you’ll get overwhelmed, burnt out, and sore if you’re overly ambitious.

The SSP is exercise for your nervous system: it’s music that has been acoustically modified based on specific filtering to train your inner ear to cue feelings of safety to your nervous system. Following SSP, your inner ear remains trained due to the biofeedback loop of the vagus nerve.

When your nervous system is dysregulated, it can be difficult for accurate neuroception, for your body to know the difference between threat and safety and to react accordingly. A dysregulated nervous system can make it difficult to navigate socially, read between the lines, pick up on unspoken emotions, and sense the atmosphere in a room.

Calming the physiological state via sounds of safety and co-regulation, the process of regulating emotional and physiological states through social interactions, helps to retune the nervous system to drop its defenses, promoting social engagement and self-regulation, and further therapy is enhanced or even accelerated. 

Using SSP with massage therapy creates a uniquely passive yet powerful path for tight muscles to relax. SSP massage is for those who feel like it’s impossible to relax and let go, even at rest. Trauma can be stored in the body, which leads to muscular guarding that causes physical and emotional strain, but as the nervous system becomes more regulated through SSP and co-regulating touch, the body opens up to the benefits of massage therapy. Expect old movement patterns and emotional reactivity to start to loosen and fade away as your body makes room for something healthier.

Disclaimer: Note that the self-paced options for Customized SSP and SSP Massage are to allow for greater financial accessibility, but more than 2 co-regulating sessions with an SSP practitioner are strongly encouraged. Co-regulation is an integral part of SSP delivery and impacts both safety and efficacy, and clients find it beneficial to have a positive witness to any difficult feelings or emotions may arise during the protocol. However I am flexible in my approach and will not force myself as your witness throughout the program. It is required to have a co-regulating support person with you each day you listen to the SSP. I am also available by email for the duration of your SSP Core program and will do my best to reply within 24 hours.