Embodying the Unified Self: Advanced Applications of the Safe and Sound Protocol
From Guest Contributor, Paula Scatoloni
“We are all meant to find our own Soul Song - our unique spark of consciousness which is a reflection of the gifts and talents we bring to the world. This process is the path of the realization of the Self.”
When I first began to offer sound journeys years ago, I was in the role of a mental health therapist primarily with a focus on the resolution of trauma and the reduction of suffering through nervous system regulation. At the time, I was engaged in the deep work of trauma healing using Somatic Experiencing with an added perspective of how our relational dynamics either support or discourage our ability to feel safe in the world.
I was seeing clients in person and was employing cutting-edge modalities developed by some of the pioneers in the trauma world like Janina Fisher, Peter Levine, Kathy Kain & Steve Terrell, and Pat Ogden. When COVID came in 2020, I could no longer employ the use of touch as a therapeutic tool. I could no longer sit physically with clients to track their nervous system. I could no longer offer my clients some of the new technology that I was beginning to use and explore in my practice at that time.
Or so I thought.
I did what many therapists at the time were doing. I made a quick pivot to remote therapy. I worked from home. And I began to think creatively about what I was offering to my clients.
The Safe and Sound Protocol in Body-Centered Psychotherapy and Healing
One tool that I became intensely curious about was an acoustic listening program developed by Dr. Stephen Porges called the Safe and Sound Protocol. As a Somatic Experiencing Provider, I knew this new acoustic tool to be helpful for supporting nervous system regulation. I also knew that it was doing something to help my clients have more access to social engagement or relational connection.
What I didn’t know then, and, what I came to understand later after becoming a sound healer, was that this tool could serve in ways that were much more expansive that I had originally been trained. This tool, when used with my skill set as an intuitive sound healer, could support the opening of the subconscious in ways that where similar to processes such as breathwork, spiritual journeying, and psychedelic processes.
The key of course has much to do with the intention of the person using the tool and the degree to which that person is in “heart coherence” and embodied presence at the time of its use.
To put it simply, we are all like tuning forks for one another, each influencing each other with the vibration that we literally and figurately give off when we interact with others. For example, if we are in a vibration of fear and disconnection, the people around us can feel that frequency via their nervous systems through a process called somatic “resonance”. In this way, we can and often do influence those around us by the state of our own nervous system and how it expresses itself in our words, actions, and behaviors, as well as through the energetic frequency that we generate.
What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an acoustic listening program that uses specific sound frequencies to help shift a person out of a physiological state or frequency of fear and disconnection into one of safety and connection. Used in its original framework it can and does support the re-tuning of the nervous system towards regulation and pro-social behaviors in both profound and very nuanced ways .
But it gets better.
Sound is an ancient healing practice that has been used throughout time across many civilizations. When we work with sound, we too can use it in similar ways as our ancient predecessors to support processes of deep transformation and growth. Sound also works at a cellular level.
I have developed a way to use the SSP so that not only does it serve as a co-therapist to foster the relational conditions of interpersonal safety to support the felt sense experience of safe embodiment, but it also provides the conditions so that emotional content that has been left out of awareness can emerge to be seen, felt, and heard. I do this through my own somatic resonance.
The Healing Process in a Sound Journey
You may be wondering what this process looks like in a sound journey. Well, it may look or feel very similar to an Internal Family Systems session where one’s defenses are met with unconditional love so that they can be gently dismantled and brought into a new relationship. Similarly, aspects of the Self that have been tucked away come forward to be met because they now feel safe enough to return. This process of reclaiming, restoring, and remembering the healed inner child parts is created both through my intention, my resonance, and my use of vibrational tool and sound frequencies.
As a therapist and healing arts practitioner, my role in this sound journey process is much like a doula or guide. I support the emergence of the inner child by attending to the psychological, emotional, physical, and energetic pathways. I use intention and breath to help participants connect with and move their emotions through the body. In this way, I serve as a bridge so that the participants can come to know themselves through more compassionate eyes and more open hearts.
The sound journeys are set-up in a group format to strengthen the container for the healing and support the development of community. Since much of the sound journey experience itself is supporting right brain processes, I also created a book or companion guide to support the integration of both left and right brain processes during the journey. For those who are interested in both Western and Eastern perspective, I have drawn from my relationship with the wisdom traditions to create a bridge as each person comes to their own understanding about the Self.
It is a journey that can be deeply transformative and equally challenging. But no one said self-realization was easy, right?
At this time in civilization, we seriously need creative solutions for ourselves, our children, and the planet. The emerging science of sound is on a parallel path to psychedelic-assisted processes and is, for me, at the forefront of these creative solutions. Sound asks us to step outside of our comfort zone to be open to what the ancient one’s have known all along - that we are all connected, that we are all in vibration with one another all the time, and that we all have a unique energetic blueprint that is our soul song. Once we discover it and bring it to the world, we make the world a better place through our service and offering. We become better more attuned stewards of each other and of the planet.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Paula Marie holds a master’s in social work and is a certified Healing Arts Practitioner in NC. She is trained in Somatic Experiencing and serves as a mentor and consultant for the Safe and Sound Protocol. Paula is the co-developer of the Embodied Recovery Institute. She has been leading groups and training providers for over 3 decades. Paula offers a synergy of psychoacoustics, psychology, somatics, and bioenergetics. Drawing from her own unique path and understanding about the intersection of human behavior, energy-psychology, somatics, spirituality, and sound, Paula’s inner child sound journeys called Embodying the Unified Self provide deep and transformative healing for the mind, body, and spirit. Paula is committed to supporting individuals in their personal transformation and mentoring providers into a new paradigm of health and sustained living on the planet.
Get Started With the Safe and Sound Protocol in Asheville, NC Today
Heidi Andersen will be co-facilitating a round of Paula’s healing sound journey called Embodying the Unified Self: Awakening the Inner Child Through Sound, Science & Somatics beginning March 18th. Registration is now open!
Reclaiming Beauty offers the Safe and Sound Protocol as a part of our body-centered therapeutic interventions.
Learn more about our Safe and Sound Protocol group, Reclaiming Your Original Beauty.
Other Services We Offer in Asheville, NC
Join us at Reclaiming Beauty as we start a journey toward healing through embodiment. Our disordered eating therapists stand ready to support you in healing all parts of you to support reclaiming the beauty of your authentic Self. Follow these few steps to get started:
Contact us so we can get to know you better.
Learn more about our approach!
Move towards wholeness as you reclaim all parts of your Self.
