Safe and Sound Protocol in Dallas, TX

Does this sound like you?

Amanda Stretcher offers the Safe and Sound Protocol therapy in Dallas, TX

You’ve been in therapy, and you’re open to learning about a type of therapy that may help in your journey of healing. You want to improve the way you feel, think, and connect with others. You’re ready to stop swinging between hypervigilant and checked out.

I’m Amanda, and I’m passionate about using the Safe and Sound Protocol to help you heal.

As your therapist, I’ll work creatively to integrate and blend therapeutic interventions into your treatment as I get to know you. I’ll invite curiosity into our sessions, helping you listen to what your body-mind need to heal. I’ll weave the Safe and Sound Protocol together with breathwork, movement, and art among other interventions depending on your individual needs.

Co-regulation is crucial in the Safe and Sound Protocol. My commitment to you is to show up as aligned and connected to safety. While listening to the Safe and Sound Protocol, I’ll connect you to a sense of agency and help you explore slowing down. I’ll meet you wherever you’re at in your journey, holding space for you and working to cultivate hope. I believe wholeheartedly that the Safe and Sound Protocol can provide you with an experience that welcomes safety and regulation into your life.

If you’re ready to go from a place of stuck-ness, stressed out, discomfort, or other chronic symptoms to being able to move forward, request a consult for the Safe and Sound Protocol in Dallas. I’d love to share more about how I use this listening therapy and what you can expect with the Safe and Sound Protocol.

So, what is the Safe and Sound Protocol…?

The Safe and Sound Protocol provides a practical application of Polyvagal Theory, which focuses on the vagus nerve and its role in emotion regulation, social engagement, and fear response.

The Safe and Sound Protocol is explained as an evidence-based listening therapy designed to reduce sound sensitivities and improve auditory processing, behavioral state regulation, and social engagement behaviors through specifically filtered music. The Safe and Sound Protocol shifts your nervous system into safety by training the middle ear muscles to tune-in to cues of safety.

The Safe and Sound Protocol acts as a non-invasive, acoustic vagal nerve stimulator, helping to re-tune your nervous system to better support connection, collaboration and resilience. With the Safe and Sound Protocol, we use music and co-regulation to aid in this re-tuning.

I like the analogy of the Safe and Sound Protocol being like a treadmill for your middle ear muscles, helping different nerves in your ears become more active. The music of the Safe and Sound Protocol particularly helps strengthen the nerves responsible for attuning to softer, closer sounds, helping to strengthen these nerves allowing you to be less attached to the periphery.

What can I expect with the Safe and Sound Protocol?

In utilizing The Safe and Sound Protocol, I’ll first work with you to create a foundation of understanding around Polyvagal Theory, helping you feel more connected to your own body and nervous system, before we start the process of utilizing the Safe and Sound Protocol. We’ll then use over-the-ear headphones to listen to specially filtered music in sessions. Effects of the Safe and Sound Protocol can be both immediate and cumulative.

Safe and Sound Protocol for trauma therapy and anxiety counseling in Dallas, Texas

Want to learn more about the Safe and Sound Protocol?

I’d love to help you in your healing journey from anxiety and trauma and to explore if the Safe and Sound Protocol could be a fit for you. Connect below, and I’ll reach out to schedule your phone consult and answer any questions you have about the Safe and Sound Protocol. You can also read more about the Safe and Sound Protocol in this blog post and from Unyte here. My other specialties include disordered eating and Brainspotting.

Safe and Sound Protocol FAQs

  • The Safe and Sound Protocol is 5 hour long auditory or music based intervention rooted in research. The intention is to reduce stress and auditory sensitivity while increasing social engagement and resilience. The music of the Safe and Sound Protocol is specificially filtered to send cues of safety to your nervous system, helping you to feel more settled, engaged, and balanced.

  • Your role is really to listen and notice any feelings or sensations that arise while listening, sharing these with me as your provider. During listening sessions, we may also use breathing exercises, gentle movement, or art. We’ll decide what to do while you listen collaboratively based on your individual needs.

  • I’ll work with you to be sure you don’t complete the program too quickly or too slowly. The right pace for your optimal listening experience will be unique to you based on your needs, preferences, and goals.

  • The Safe and Sound Protocol is evidence-based. I believe in the Safe and Sound Protocol because of the supporting research and because of my own experience with the listening program. I’ve experienced expansion in my own life through the Safe and Sound Protocol (I even plan the Balance playlist for my dogs!), and I’ve seen the impact on my clients since I started using this program in 2022.

  • The Safe and Sound Protocol might be right for you if you are experiencing symptoms of dysregulation. Dysregulation can show up as

    difficulty with digestion, eating or swallowing,
    difficulty with falling and staying asleep, or sleeping too much,
    rapid or shallow breathing, changes in heart rate and blood pressure,
    challenges connecting with other people, feelings of isolation or loneliness, and anxiety,
    or trouble with concentrating, mental clarity, or creativity.

    The Safe and Sound Protocol may help support and reduce symptoms associated with

    Depression and anxiety,
    neurodevelopmental differences, such as autism, hyperactivity and attention,
    learning difficulties,
    sensory processing differences,
    trauma history,
    and more.

  • I’ve been providing the Safe and Sound Protocol for over a year. I’ve used the Safe and Sound Protocol in the treatment of many presenting issues, including:

    Functional Movement Disorder (FMD)
    Long COVID
    ADHD
    Anxiety Disorders
    Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    Misophonia
    Sleep Disorders
    Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
    Parkinson’s Disease
    Disordered Eating
    Auditory Processing
    Depression