HAVENING

 

Better Living through Neuroscience

 

Havening Touch® is a gentle and nurturing psychosensory technique that uses the body’s innate and intuitive self-healing abilities to permanently strengthen the mind and body, by reducing emotional distress and enhancing psychological wellbeing.

 

The Havening Techniques®, developed by Dr Ronald A. Ruden M.D., Ph.D., targets the brain’s Amygdala to rapidly delete traumatic memories.  By creating a strong signal of safety through specific soothing touch on the hands, arms, and face, Havening literally rewires the brain to ease trauma effects.  This touch mechanism, found in mammals, helps us naturally recover from trauma.  Practitioners or clients can apply the touch during sessions, which is effective even through video calls for those that need help from a distance.

 

Havening touch® puts your nervous system in a “safe haven” where fears and upsetting memories no longer cause emotional distress, by clearing trauma and building resilience.

 

Havening® uses soothing touch and mental distraction to create natural electro-chemical changes in the brain by increasing delta waves, and chemical messengers, like serotonin and oxytocin.  Traumatic neural connections to the amygdala in the brain are permanently dissolved so unwanted memories, emotions and physical discomfort are no longer activated.

 

Havening can also be used to build resilience, positive states of being, build capacity for presence, focus and concentration and reduce distress in the moment.

 

Havening Touch® uses gentle stroking of the face, upper arms, and the palms of the hands.  This can be applied by the practitioner with client consent, which is referred to as Facilitated Havening, or it can be applied by the client known as Self-havening.  Havening touch increases delta wave production in the brain and calms down the nervous system.  Neuroscientists have discovered that there are specialised nerve cells in the skin that detect soothing warm touch, such as a hand.  These nerves transmit signals directly to the emotional centers of the brain, fostering a profound feeling of safety and connection.

 

 

What can Havening help with?

 

 

Find more information on the Havening website.

 

For more details of the science behind the work.

 

If you have any questions send inquiries to: info@havening.org

 

More learning resources.

 

A simple and informative animated video about the neuroscience. What is Havening and How does it work?  Created by Tam Johnson.

 

Published scientific paper establishing the mechanisms of Havening, ‘Harnessing Electroceuticals to Treat Disorders Arising From Traumatic Stress: Theoretical Considerations Using A Psychosensory Model’ by Dr Ronald Ruden.

 

 

What can I expect from my Havening session?

 

You will not be re-traumatised during Havening.  Sometimes clients who have had other therapies have had to relive terrifying experiences.  With Havening we do not need to know the details of your trauma.  When working with your trauma all we need for you to do is briefly recall the event, then we begin distractions to take your attention away from the trauma along with the Havening Touch which places you in a safe space for the time that it takes for the chemical and electrical changes to take effect.  This brief recall activates the specific neural pathway that is attached to the amygdala in the brain so makes sure that we permanently remove that traumatic connection.  It does not remove the facts of the memory, but it does remove the unpleasant emotional and physical responses attached to that event.  Often clients are able to look at the event from a different perspective and most certainly from a place of safety, calm and neutrality.

 

 

Complex Trauma can be a repeated trauma over years or being in circumstances you can’t escape where you are constantly exposed to trauma.  Sometimes this can start early on in life, beyond our memory recall, however, these earlier memories can be stored in the body.  This repeated trauma creates layers, like an onion (or like parfait if you love Donkey in Shrek).  As we work on clearing the most recent traumas, like peeling an onion, this will allow deeper underlying trauma to come to the surface so symptoms can get temporarily worse.

 

At the time when a traumatic event is encoded (stored) in the amygdala, if we don’t have the resilience or emotional capabilities to deal with it, our body buries it in the subconscious until it is safe for it to be dealt with.  Havening creates that sense of safety that allows the buried trauma to be healed layer after layer which allows early childhood events to come to the surface to be healed.

 

It is important for us to work together to understand how resilient or emotionally vulnerable you are.  In vulnerable clients it may be necessary to focus on building resilience first before attempting to clear a traumatic event, but in most cases, we can first clear the trauma and build resilience.

 

Your body and mind have its own innate healing wisdom, so it will always endeavor to keep you safe as you clear traumatic layers at a pace that you can cope with.  Havening touch will provide that safe space for you during the session and beyond as you learn to apply Self-Havening in different ways to support you through overwhelming thoughts, feelings, physical pain and to address any stress or anxiety.

 

Clients with complex trauma that are vulnerable with reduced resilience may need multiple sessions, while others who are otherwise resilient with non-complex trauma may only need one session.

 

 

What do I do after a Havening session?

 

After a session I encourage you to take good care of yourself.

 

For example:

 

Be kind and gentle with yourself.

Drink plenty of water.

Make time to get enough sleep.

Take a nap if you need to.

Eat nutritious foods.

Move your body in ways that feel good.

You may also want to journal, reflect, or meditate as you integrate these positive changes.

 

Consider avoiding alcohol or heavy stimulants after your sessions.

 

 

What can I expect after a session?

 

After a session you may:

 

Feel like a weight has been lifted or you feel lighter.

Have an extra spring in your step.

Feel tired, like you want a nap or extra sleep.

Notice certain unpleasant feelings are gone.

Feel aligned and back in the “flow” of life.

More easily stop habits which are unhealthy.

Experience clearer personal boundaries.

Act on your own intuition more easily.

See things from a different perspective.

You may also feel slightly disoriented, “glum” or emotional after a session. This is normal and generally passes within a day or so.

 

It’s also normal to feel skeptical, like you’re waiting for the old feelings to return.

 

The clinical reports from using Havening show no additional side-effects when used appropriately.  However, in using Havening in our sessions together or on your own between sessions, it is possible to experience some emotional distress and/or physical discomfort that can be perceived as negative.

 

Unresolved memories may also surface after a Havening session and give indication of other issues or incidents that may need to be addressed.

 

In using Havening, it’s possible that previously vivid or traumatic memories may fade, which is a positive outcome.

 

 

What if I have to testify in court?

 

Event Havening is used to resolve traumatic events, memories, and patterns.

 

This could adversely impact your ability to provide legal testimony that carries the same emotional impact as prior to applying Havening regarding a traumatic incident.

 

In this case, it is advised that Event Havening should not be done on the event related to legal testimony.

 

However, other Havening methods can be used to support you and build resilience within your daily life until you testify in court.  Once it is appropriate for you, Event Havening can be done to clear that traumatic event.

 

 

If you have any questions or experience discomfort after a session, please let me know right away.

 

 

My commitment to you:

 

I am here to support you on your journey to creating a life you love and the success you want.

 

I am committed to working ethically and responsibly within my scope of practice.

 

 

 

*Giulia Papa is a Certified Havening Techniques Practitioner.

 

Havening Techniques is a registered trademark of Ronald Ruden, 15 East 91st Street, New York. www.havening.org

 

On a personal note:

 

I discovered the transformative power of Havening through my own journey with PTSD after years of living with a chronic health condition which culminated in a lifesaving double lung transplant.  It was a long and complicated journey as it is for many transplant recipients.

 

After my Havening sessions, I was able to shift a pattern of constant stress and anxiety, and the flashbacks became memories, rather than a source of distress.  After my 3rd Havening session, the inflammatory pain in my hips that developed during my physical rehabilitation post-transplant disappeared within hours and I was able to walk without pain in my hips.

 

Regarding my beautiful donor and donor family, feelings of distress and sadness were transformed to a place of peace and gratitude where I can honour them, enjoy life, be happy, purposeful and of service.

 

Experiencing Havening, shifting the trauma, helped me to heal in a way that I had not experienced before. I felt grounded, clear, centered, hopeful, and grateful. I felt like I had been lifted out of a confusing fog, and was back to my positive, and intuitive self.

 

This profound personal experience ignited my passion for helping others harness the healing potential of Havening, both emotionally and physically.

 

I look forward to working with you to unlock your full potential as you become an empowered individual who embraces a life of vitality and inner peace.