Safe & Sound
The Leading Edge Clinic offers the Safe & Sound Protocol, a listening therapy designed to regulate the autonomic nervous system, and stimulate and tone the vagus nerve. Often used to treat psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety, the Safe & Sound Protocol has improved the lives of our patients suffering from complex chronic illnesses, such as Long Haul Covid and Vaccine Injury.
In states of chronic illness, the body becomes stressed and drowns out frequencies that promote nervous system regulation. In turn, the body moves into a state of fight/flight/freeze. This can keep your body from properly utilizing treatments, and using it’s own healing mechanisms. The Safe & Sound Protocol helps promote a state of safety and security, shifting the autonomic nervous system into a state of “rest and digest”. We can not think our way into this state, and that is where Safe & Sound comes in. SSP uses filtered music to give your nervous system repeated stimulation of middle sound frequencies. Middle sound frequencies are used to signal safety to our nervous system, via the vagus nerve. This promotes regulation and healing.
While we offer Safe & Sound therapy to our Long Haul, Post Vaccine Injured, and other medically complex patients, we also work with other patients who can benefit from this therapy. The list of conditions that can benefit from SSP include, but is not limited to:
- Any Chronic Illness
- Neurodivergence (ie: Autistic, ADD, and ADHD)
- Auditory and other sensory processing difficulties
- Sleep disorders
- Trauma (ie: PTSD)
- Digestive and Gut Health Issues
Program Details
You will work with a trained and certified Safe & Sound instructor, Aly Burt RN. Her guiding presence during the sessions is important, as it ensures the music is titrated appropriately, and acts as a means of co-regulation (emotionally and physically). The program totals 5 hours of filtered music. Full completion of the program takes 20 sessions due to the importance of starting slowly, pausing for regulation techniques/exercises, and getting the best results. The cost of the program is $1,495. This amounts to slightly under $75/session. Other practitioners charge up to $4,000 for the program, but we want this to be as accessible as possible for those whose recoveries so direly depend upon re-regulating the autonomic nervous system. In order to get started, please register as a patient. If you are already a patient, ask your provider and nursing team.
Meet Your Safe & Sound Guide
Aly’s strong background in human development and healthcare gives her a unique blend of expertise and empathy when guiding patients through SSP. Aly earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University, where she cultivated a deep understanding of family dynamics and child development. She later pursued her passion for healthcare by becoming a Registered Nurse through Colorado Northwestern Community College. Learn more about Aly.
Polyvagal Theory and the Science Behind SSP
The polyvagal theory informs us that the autonomic state functions as an intervening variable, moving the patient from states of vulnerability in response to threat, to states of accessibility when supported by cues of safety and appropriate social support. If you think about the nervous system being on a ladder. This theory tells us that on that ladder, your nervous system can move up and down between fight and flight and rest and digest as it regulates the world around them. Moving up and down the ladder is important in creating new patterns within your autonomic nervous system. Learn more about SSP
Long Haul Covid Case Study
Read a report on the Safe & Sound Protocol’s clinical impact on one Long Covid patient. This patient experienced symptoms of fatigue, joint pain, tachycardia, brain fog, and impaired proprioception. Their participation in the SSP program resulted in a decrease in tachycardia symptoms, improved respiration, and the ability to appropriately respond to external stimuli with facial expressions. Learn more about this case