Safe and Sound Protocol in Dallas, TX
Does this sound like you?
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 in Dallas 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 (SSP) Packages
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an evidence-based, polyvagal-informed listening therapy designed to help regulate the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and create more emotional resilience. Whether you're starting therapy with me or are interested in adding the Safe and Sound Protocol as part of your healing journey with your current therapist, I offer tailored packages to meet your unique needs.
Package 1: Comprehensive Therapy + SSP
Price: $180 for initial session | $165 per individual therapy session | $25 for annual client license
If you're looking to start therapy and explore the SSP alongside ongoing therapeutic work, this package offers the full experience. We’ll focus on integrating SSP into a broader, holistic approach to healing and self-discovery, blending Brainspotting, body-based work, and talk therapy for a deeper connection between mind, body, and emotions.
What This SSP Package Includes:
Initial 50-minute consultation and assessment ($180)
Weekly or bi-weekly 50-minute therapy sessions ($165 per session), which include Brainspotting, mindfulness, and somatic work through Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
SSP integrated into therapy at a personalized pace based on your therapeutic goals
Ongoing support between therapy sessions via phone or email
Flexible scheduling to support your healing process
You are responsible for the cost of your annual client license ($25/year)
Is This Right for You?
This package is ideal if you're seeking a long-term therapeutic relationship that supports both your mental health and nervous system regulation. Together, we’ll develop an individualized plan to help you thrive.
Package 2: SSP Only for Clients With a Primary Therapist
Price: $590/Year for Full SSP Program
For clients already working with a primary therapist but interested in the benefits of the SSP, this package offers a streamlined experience. I collaborate with you and your therapist to integrate SSP into your healing journey, focusing on nervous system regulation and resilience.
What This Package Includes:
Initial 90-minute consultation and assessment to map your nervous system and establish SSP goals
One round of SSP Core + other pathways, as desired
Independent listening with access to me via phone and email throughout the process
Resources and tools to help you understand and monitor your progress
Additional sessions (in-person or virtually) are 80$ for 30 minutes and 165$ for 50 minutes. These sessions may be used for check-ins, supported listening sessions, or Brainspotting
Following completion of your first round of Core, each additional year of access is available for 145$
Is This Right for You?
If you already have a trusted therapist and want to enhance your healing journey by adding SSP, this package allows you to work at your own pace. With the independent listening model, you'll have flexibility while knowing you have ongoing support from me. Additional 30 or 50-minute sessions are available as needed at my per-session rates.
Why Choose the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is especially effective for individuals struggling with anxiety, trauma, and attachment wounds. By helping you regulate your nervous system, the Safe and Sound Protocol makes it easier to process emotions, feel more grounded, and improve overall emotional resilience.
Who Benefits from SSP in Dallas?
SSP can be especially helpful for individuals whose bodies remain in prolonged activation due to trauma, chronic stress, or relational overwhelm. People who may benefit include those experiencing:
Chronic anxiety or hypervigilance
Social anxiety or relational stress
Difficulty with co-regulation in partnerships
PTSD or trauma responses
Sensory sensitivities and nervous system dysregulation
SSP supports both individual therapy and, in some contexts, relational work when nervous system safety is foundational to connection.
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 Brainspotting and trauma therapy.
SSP Session Journal
As part of my work with the Safe and Sound Protocol, I’ve created a structured SSP Session Journal to support deeper integration between listening sessions.
While so much of SSP happens through the nervous system, having a tangible place to track your pre-session state, cues of safety, post-listening reflections, and regulating activities can help make subtle shifts more visible over time.
This printable journal page is designed to:
Support intention-setting before listening
Track nervous system changes during and after sessions
Strengthen collaboration with your SSP provider
Encourage regulation practices beyond the headphones
Many clients find that bringing written reflections into session deepens our work and supports long-term integration.
Safe and Sound Protocol FAQs
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 two years. 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 -
Yes. SSP helps the nervous system feel safe enough to engage in deeper trauma work. Many clients who struggle with hypervigilance or shutdown find SSP supportive before modalities like Brainspotting.
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Yes, especially for chronic or nervous system–based anxiety. SSP supports vagal regulation, which can reduce the body’s baseline activation and make anxiety more manageable.
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Yes. I provide Safe and Sound Protocol in person in Dallas and integrate it with broader therapy goals, including trauma, anxiety, or relationship work.
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a nervous system-focused intervention designed to help individuals shift out of chronic fight-or-flight and into greater regulation, safety, and social engagement. At Crescent Counseling in Dallas, SSP is integrated into trauma-informed care, anxiety therapy, and relational work to support clients whose nervous systems remain in prolonged activation. SSP helps the body feel safe so that deeper therapeutic approaches, such as Brainspotting or couples counseling, can be more effective.
Check out our Safe and Sound Protocol in Dallas blogs for more!
I’m now trained and certified in the Rest and Restore Protocol (RRP), a complementary tool to support deeper regulation, restful sleep, and overall nervous system balance.
Rest and Restore Protocol is designed to promote calm and restoration by gently activating the parasympathetic nervous system through specially filtered music. It’s a beautiful addition to the Safe and Sound Protocol or can be used on its own to support ongoing healing and integration.
Begin SSP Therapy in Dallas
If you are interested in the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) in Dallas as part of trauma-informed, nervous system-focused care, you’re invited to request a consultation. This brief initial call helps clarify whether SSP, trauma therapy, anxiety therapy, or couples counseling is the best fit for your needs.
What Is the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)?
The Safe and Sound Protocol is a listening intervention developed from polyvagal theory that uses specially filtered music to stimulate the vagus nerve and improve cues of safety in the nervous system. It is not a mood-altering technique, but a physiological support that helps the body shift out of chronic states of hyperarousal or shutdown, creating a foundation for regulation and connection.
How SSP Works
SSP works by activating the social engagement system through auditory pathways, helping the nervous system experience a sense of safety. Over the course of sessions, clients may notice increased calm, better capacity for relational engagement, reduced startle response, and greater ease in regulating emotions. By supporting vagal regulation, SSP helps the nervous system feel less reactive and more receptive to therapeutic processing.
SSP and Our Approach in Dallas
At Crescent Counseling, the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is integrated into trauma-informed and nervous system-focused care. Safe and Sound Protocol is often paired with other therapeutic modalities like Brainspotting and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to help the body settle into safety before deeper processing occurs. For individuals whose nervous systems are chronically activated, Safe and Sound Protocol can increase capacity for relational engagement and make trauma therapy more accessible and sustainable.
What to Expect in an SSP Session
A Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) session in Dallas usually involves a series of listening sessions where clients engage with specially filtered music through headphones in a comfortable therapeutic setting. The therapist monitors nervous system cues and supports grounded awareness. Clients may notice changes in breath, attention, emotional ease, or relational openness as the body settles into a more regulated state.
This information includes proprietary content about the Safe and Sound Protocol, used with permission from Unyte Health Inc. — leading provider of evidence-based listening therapies for nervous system regulation.