Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)

Calm your nervous system. Reconnect with yourself. Build emotional resilience.
This gentle listening therapy recalibrates the nervous system. Through improved nervous system regulation, individuals can better connect with themself, others, and the world around them.

What Is the SSP?

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a science-backed listening therapy developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. It uses specially filtered music to help re-atune your nervous system, reduce stress, and support emotional and physical resilience.

Through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, SSP helps you move out of survival mode and into a state of connection, calm, and clarity. You become more equipped to respond more effectively to life challenges, access higher learning, and cognition, and build positive social relationships.

Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, SSP is an evidence-based program rooted in Polyvagal Theory. It uses specially filtered music to send cues of safety to your brain and body, helping shift your nervous system from stress and shutdown into calm, connected states.

Through even just a few minutes of listening at a time, SSP helps:

Regulate your emotional responses
Support healing from trauma or chronic stress
Improve sleep, focus, digestion, and connection

Jodi Hunt

CSW

Jodi graduated in 2023 from the University of Kentucky’s Master of Social Work program with a Clinical Social Work Certificate of Study and a Substance Use Disorders Certificate of Study. She received her undergraduate degree in social work with a minor in children and family studies in 1997 from Weber State University. Jodi has had experience providing group work and individual therapy for a variety of populations that include children, teens, adults, and older adults. Jodi has experience in treating and supporting individuals and families that are challenged by issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, divorce, relationships, and addiction. She has strong interests in relational dynamics, personality, and how the autonomic nervous system (ANS) influences the overall wellbeing of individuals and their relationships. Using a Polyvagal lens, she assists clients to better understand their ANS and develop regulation strategies so they can experience a felt sense of safety which then enables them to find a place of connection where they can find flow and creativity in life.

Cost

Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Access and Pricing

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is included as part of your regular therapy sessions.

Program Cost

$150 initial setup fee (covers your license and access for one year)
$10 monthly maintenance fee for the next 11 months

If you decide to stop the listening program at any time, your SSP license will be suspended and the monthly fee will end.

Family Discounts
Additional family members can join the program for a discounted setup fee of $75, plus the same $10 monthly maintenance fee for one year.

How It Works in Therapy
The SSP program is fully integrated into your therapy sessions.
Sessions begin weekly and are gradually reduced as you make progress and your goals are met.
Therapy sessions are billed separately to insurance or private pay.

What’s Included

Access to the SSP App for 1 Full Year
Initially, SSP will be incorporated into weekly sessions, listening one on one with your SSP provider. If your provider deems appropriate, listening can be done between weekly sessions with a support system at home. In collaboration with your SSP provider, your listening plan will be created, tailored, and adjusted as needed to fit your needs.
After reviewing SSP information and are interested further and not already an established client - schedule a 15-Minute In-Person or online Consultation - Meet Jodi to discuss your goals, get questions answered to see if it is a good fit. If you are already an existing client, please discuss with Jodi during your next session.
Initial session - Review of intake, Psychoeducation, & beginning Listening Plan You will leave with a basic understanding of the autonomic nervous system and learn to be in tune with your own nervous system with tools to regulate and integrate your SSP experience.

Personalized Guidance
I’ll adjust your SSP listening to fit your nervous system’s pace throughout your listening experience. I will be available via email or messaging via Simple Practice, responding within 24 business hours, if there are any concerns or questions with your listening experience.

More Info on Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)

Rewire Your Nervous System, Rediscover Connection

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck in survival mode, or disconnected from yourself or others — you’re not alone. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a powerful, yet gentle listening therapy designed to help you regulate and attune the nervous system allowing you to reconnect to your sense of safety, ease, and experience deeper and more meaningful connections with others. Results will vary as each of our nervous systems and experiences are unique, however, some experience immediate positive changes to 2-3 weeks, and can continue 3-4 months after completing the 5hr protocol. Listening to the 5hr protocol can be repeated with the guidance of the provider after 3-4 months. If additional rounds are completed within the year of the first listening session, no additional costs will be incurred for access to SSP. You will have access to the Balance program that is lightly filtered music that offers continued support after Core. You can use this ongoing to maintain regulation within your year access.

What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?

Through even just a few minutes of listening at a time, SSP helps:

Regulate your emotional responses
Support healing from trauma or chronic stress
Improve sleep, focus, digestion, and connection

Who Can Benefit?

SSP may be helpful for adults and children dealing with:

Anxiety or depression
Trauma and PTSD
Chronic stress or fatigue
Sensory processing challenges
Misophonia or sound sensitivities
Long Covid and chronic pain
Calming, resetting the nervous system, and building resiliency

If your nervous system feels stuck in “on” or “off,” SSP offers a gentle, body-based path toward balance. SSP is a passive therapy and the listener can participate in calm activities such as drawing, building blocks, puzzles, or light movement. You will listen to music from a few minutes to thirty minutes using over the ear headphones without noise cancelling.

What Does the Music Sound Like?

SSP music is familiar and enjoyable, filtered to deliver therapeutic benefits. There are seven playlist options and you can listen with your provider to have a brief sample of the variety of music that include : Folk, rock, pop, country, 80s and 90s, children’s songs from movies, nursery rhymes, and lullabies, electric mix, or soothing classical music. All playlists use the same filtering and you choose to suit your preferences. The music is structured in a way that supports gradual nervous system engagement.

SSP Pathways

There are three levels of SSP listening available, depending on your needs:

1. SSP Core

The main protocol, deeply filtered and most transformative. It includes 5 hours of music, listened to in small doses over days or weeks.

2. SSP Connect

Unfiltered music, used to gently introduce or re-stabilize the system. Great for preparing for Core or calming during tough moments.

3. SSP Balance

Lightly filtered music that offers continued support after Core. You can use this ongoing to maintain regulation.