Havening: to take someone to a place of safety.
In my ongoing journey to find the most effective, gentle, and transformative healing modalities, I came across something truly remarkable: Havening Techniques. Have you heard about it?
Even before COVID, many of us were searching for ways to feel relief from past trauma and daily stress. Not everyone wants to take a pill. Everyone gets tired of talking about the same thing over and over. At least, that was the way I felt.
Havening is a psychosensory therapy using one or more of the body’s senses such as touch, taste, scent, sight, sound as part of its treatment.
Back in 2022, “Havening” was completely new to me. A friend (who is finishing his master’s program in social work) was told about Havening at his university.
He encouraged me to look into it, too. This powerful technique, rooted in neuroscience, immediately captured my attention, and I thought it might be a perfect addition to the healing methods I offer.
Havening is backed by solid scientific research and works by altering how our brains store and react to memories, particularly traumatic ones. It is designed to help people release emotional and psychological distress gently and effectively.
Important Note: Have you ever had an odd reaction but didn’t know why?
It’s because not all traumas are remembered consciously. Some may describe this state of mind similar to amnesia. The reason for this is because traumas are stored in our amygdala, the part of the brain that activates when we feel threatened or in harm’s way (think of the Fight/Flight/Freeze response).
Havening is gaining recognition not only among holistic healers like me but also among medical providers and licensed therapists because of its science-based approach.
Several clinical studies in the U.S., England, and New Zealand (and perhaps others that I am not aware of) are ongoing to establish the effectiveness of Havening. Those studies build on established, peer-reviewed studies that validated protocols such as Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing and Thought Field Therapy.
I completed my training in June 2022 and finished the requisite load of supervised case studies in July. I had a laser focus on knowing as much as I could about Havening and wanted to offer it to my clients.
The wonderful thing about Havening is that it really is a team approach to help resolve the issue, and the clients can clearly track their progress session by session (not month by month). Combining Havening with Hypnosis in a session takes it to the next level.
The response from clients has been overwhelmingly positive.
Many have shared how this gentle yet effective method has brought them a sense of relief and peace they hadn’t found with other therapies.
This is important: If you’ve had a trauma with Havening, you do not need to relive it by telling me what happened. Talking about trauma over and over rarely helps to heal or resolve it. Havening takes a different approach – one that works.
I’m excited to continue exploring Havening’s potential and to share more about how it works in future blogs. Stay tuned—there’s so much more to discover about this incredible healing modality, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Cheers!
Marilyn
