Description:

This presentation will focus on how Polyvagal Theory provides a plausible model to explain how and why intonation of voice and vocal music can support mental and physical health and enhance function during compromised states associated with illness, chronic stress, and trauma. The workshop will elaborate on the principles incorporated in the Safe and Sound Protocol™ and the lessons learned through preliminary clinical trials, current research, and feedback from clinicians applying the protocol to various clinical disorders including individuals with severe trauma histories. The Safe and Sound Protocol™ is a listening intervention, based on the Polyvagal Theory, designed to promote social engagement behaviors in individuals with problems in state regulation, social interaction, and communication. The Safe and Sound Protocol™ is targeted at improving auditory processing and reducing hypersensitivity to sounds by “exercising” the neural regulation of the middle ear muscles and improving the regulation of autonomic state via the Social Engagement System.

Educational Objectives:

1. Discuss the evolutionary basis of the definable frequency bands involved in successful social communication and embedded in vocal music and speech that support health.
2. Describe how trauma and stresses can “retune” auditory processing and distort our ability to process human speech
3. Describe the mechanisms through which voice conveys physiological state and how listening to types of vocalizations and acoustic stimulation can aid in the regulation of biobehavioral states

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*