Find Ease Stress, Build Emotional Resilience, and Enhance Nervous System Regulation

Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) in Fort Lauderdale

Online SSP Support for Adults, Kids, and Families in Florida and Illinois

Adult woman with headphones – SSP nervous system support in Fort Lauderdale

Safe and Sound Protocol is a gentle, body-based therapy that supports you in feeling more at ease in yourself and in connection with others.

It involves listening to five hours of filtered music over time using over-the-ear headphones, either during sessions with me or outside of sessions when appropriate.

This approach can ease sensory sensitivities, take the edge off strong emotions, and make it easier to settle, even in moments that feel overwhelming.

Safe and Sound Protocol Provider in Florida

Amy Hagerstrom, Fort Lauderdale Safe and Sound Protocol Provider and Somatic Therapist

Hi, I’m Amy Hagerstrom, LCSW.

I’m really glad you’re here.

If you’re exploring the Safe and Sound Protocol, it’s probably because life feels overwhelming in ways that don’t seem to let up. Maybe you feel overloaded by noise, light, or busy environments. Maybe you find yourself snapping, shutting down, or feeling anxious around others or in groups. These reactions can make it harder to relax, connect, or feel at ease in your own skin.

As a somatic therapist and SSP provider, I integrate this listening work into ongoing therapy. By pairing SSP with Somatic Experiencing, we create space for your nervous system to settle, so we can gently notice what comes up and support your system in moving toward more ease and resilience.

Through this process, many people find it easier to handle sensory input, stay grounded in social situations, and feel less pulled into reactivity.

Learn More about Me

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a gentle, science-backed music therapy developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, the founder of Polyvagal Theory. SSP uses specially filtered music to stimulate your vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in regulating your nervous system. The vagus nerve helps your body respond to signals of safety, and SSP can improve how your brain and body recognize these cues. It’s especially helpful for people dealing with anxiety, trauma, chronic pain, or sensory sensitivities.

By resetting your nervous system, SSP helps reduce how intensely you react to stress or triggers, allowing you to handle everyday challenges with more resilience. It helps both adults and children feel safer and more grounded, improves emotional regulation, and enhances focus and well-being.

What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?

How Can the SSP Help You or Your Family?

Support for Adults

Overwhelm from life’s challenges, struggles in relationships, past trauma, or sensory overload can leave adults feeling stuck and on edge.
Safe and Sound Protocol offers a gentle way to help calm your system, making it easier to find balance and handle what life brings.
Support for Children

Sensory sensitivities, anxiety, autism, or behavioral challenges can make it hard for kids to regulate emotions, focus, and connect with others.
Through Safe and Sound Protocol, I provide gentle support to help kids feel more settled and at ease in their daily lives.
Support for Families

When a family feels dysregulated, tension and conflict can make it hard for everyone to get along or find peace together.
Safe and Sound Protocol supports the entire family, helping to create more calm, connection, and understanding at home.

When life feels overwhelming, it’s often because your nervous system is stuck in stress mode. You might avoid challenges, hold back your thoughts, or feel shame for reacting strongly or shutting down. This can make it hard to connect—with yourself, others, or the life you want.

SSP helps shift these patterns by calming your nervous system through gentle, music-based therapy. It can:

Bring More Balance: Fewer intense emotions make it easier to feel steady and respond thoughtfully.
Improve Emotional Regulation: Stressors feel less overwhelming, helping you stay grounded in tough moments.
Strengthen Relationships: Greater ease in your system allows for better connection and communication.

Let’s explore how SSP can help you or your family find more calm and connection.

How SSP Can Positively Impact You or Your Family

Family with two kids by a lake holding fishing poles, representing calm connection, presence, and family support with SSP.

Father holding his young son's hand at Fort Lauderdale Florida beach, reflecting connection, safety, and nervous system through Polyvagal Theory informed therapy

Younger woman hugging an older woman on a bench in Pompano Beach Florida, representing connection, safety, and emotional support through SSP.

How SSP Therapy Works

SSP involves listening to five hours of filtered music through an app with over-the-ear headphones. The music emphasizes frequencies that help your brain tune into signals of safety, like the soothing tones of a comforting voice. As your nervous system adjusts, you may feel calmer and less reactive.

What to Expect with Safe and Sound Protocol

SSP works differently for everyone, and finding the right pace is key. Some people need to go slower, and that’s okay. I’ll help you notice how your body responds and adjust as needed. Gentle movement or small changes to your surroundings can also support the process.

You might feel tired, restless, or spacey, and these are all natural signs your system is adjusting. Sometimes these responses mean we need to slow down or look more closely at what’s coming up as safety starts to come in. Everyone’s experience is unique, and we’ll work together to help you feel more at ease, both during SSP and in daily life.

For more information on Safe and Sound Protocol, please visit Integrated Listening.

Over-the-ear headphones on a desk there for Safe and Sound Protocol, part of somatic therapy for nervous system support

Light green over the ear headphones being held in a hand in calm and peaceful setting in a forest.

SSP Listening Options

I offer SSP for children, teens, and adults. The structure looks a little different depending on age and needs.

Adults
For adults, SSP is always an addition to somatic therapy with me. We can listen together in sessions, you can listen outside of sessions when appropriate, or use a mix of both. I’ll guide and support the process, making sure the pacing and approach are right for your system.

Children and Teens
For children and teens, SSP is offered in collaboration with their therapist and with strong involvement from parents. I stay connected with parents throughout the process to ensure the listening experience is well supported at home and integrated with their child’s therapy. Please see the Child and Teen SSP page for more information.

White Headphones on a flowering plant outside in setting that is relaxing for the nervous system

SSP for Adults

For adults, the Safe and Sound Protocol is offered as an addition to ongoing somatic therapy with me.

Fees

Initial Access: $150
This covers your first year of access to the SSP app. If you use SSP for more than a year, this fee will be charged again to extend access for up to another year.
Email Support: $50/month
This provides ongoing support between sessions while you are completing the listening process. Email support is especially important in the early stages and ensures you always have a way to check in with me about questions, concerns, or responses that come up along the way.

Safe and Sound Protocol: Costs and Support

Where I Work

I support children, teens, and adults with SSP throughout Florida, including Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale. All sessions are online, making it easier to fit this work into daily life.

I’m also licensed in Illinois and offer SSP support to clients across the state, including the Chicago area.

SSP can be supportive for both adults and children. It’s often helpful for those dealing with sensory sensitivities, emotional reactivity, social anxiety, or feeling easily overwhelmed. It can also support people living with ADHD, autism, chronic stress, or health issues linked to a sensitive nervous system, including some forms of dysautonomia. By helping the nervous system register more safety, SSP makes it easier to settle, connect, and feel more at ease in daily life.
To do the Safe and Sound Protocol, you’ll need a pair of non–noise-canceling over-the-ear headphones and a quiet space where you feel comfortable. I’ll provide access to the SSP app and guide you in how and when to use it, whether we listen together in session or you continue listening between sessions with my support.
Some potential reactions to the Safe and Sound Protocol include temporary discomfort—like increased anxiety, restlessness, emotional sensitivity, or heightened awareness of sensations and triggers. These are usually short-lived and often signal that your nervous system is adjusting.
Sometimes the pace needs to shift, but these responses can also offer insight into what’s happening in your environment or why certain symptoms are showing up in the first place. We’ll use this information to guide the process and support you (or your child) in a way that feels manageable and effective.
SSP is not suitable for individuals with unmanaged psychosis or certain neurological disorders, such as epilepsy. Additionally, while the Safe and Sound Protocol may potentially help with tinnitus, there is a possibility that it could worsen the condition. Because of this, SSP should be approached with caution if tinnitus is present.
SSP follows the principle of "safe before sound," meaning that certain life or health factors may require us to delay or use SSP carefully to ensure the best possible outcome.
Yes. In my practice, the Safe and Sound Protocol is always offered as part of ongoing somatic therapy. It often blends well with Somatic Experiencing, since SSP helps your nervous system register more safety while SE supports working with what comes up in the moment. Together, they create space for easing stored stress and building more capacity to handle life’s challenges.
SSP can also complement other therapeutic approaches by supporting the body’s responses alongside the work you’re already doing with thoughts and emotions. It’s important to know that SSP is not a stand-alone therapy and always requires the support of ongoing therapeutic work.

Safe and Sound Protocol Therapy FAQs

Man using headphones while listening to Safe and Sound Protocol

Still water – evoking quiet and reflection

Get help from a Florida SSP Provider

When life feels overwhelming, when emotions run high or it’s hard to settle, support is here. This gentle, music-based therapy can ease reactivity, sensory challenges, and that stuck feeling that makes daily life harder.

SSP helps your body and mind not just recognize safety but begin to take it in, making it easier to feel more at ease, resilient, and connected in your daily life.

I’d be honored to guide you through the process and support you in finding more ease and capacity with SSP.

Relief is possible.

Contact me to get started

Your First Step Toward Support

If you’re interested in a free 10-minute consultation, please fill out the form on my Contact page.

If you have any questions, you can include them in the form as well. I’ll be glad to respond.