Written by Nicole Carreon, LMFT, Holli Engelhart, LICSW
Some years back, Nicole was in a “moms Facebook group of all places”, and another member posed a question to the group asking if anyone had heard of Havening. As a clinical provider, she initially thought “What is that…some type of meditation or what?” She had never heard of it before. The member said she was seeing a provider who was using it on her to help with anxiety.
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Nicole was intrigued and started the process of doing a little bit of research. After discovering information found on the Havening Techniques official website, and watching videos of demonstrations; her intrigue turned into a deeper interest. The more she learned, the more she felt she found something remarkable. She was learning how individuals were being treated for a full spectrum of mental health issues using a combination of touch and memory work. She shared her findings with her colleague, Holli, and they both immediately enrolled in the certification training and never looked back.
What is Havening Techniques?
Havening Techniques ® can be described as a type of psycho-sensory (touch) technique that uses sensory input in order to alter thought, mood, and behavior. The Havening Techniques engage our inherent biological system to permanently heal, strengthen, and empower our minds and bodies. When a person experiences a traumatic or stressful event, it becomes immutably encoded in the psyche and the body. Once encoded this can manifest as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxieties, phobias, or other psychological disorders.
Havening Techniques was developed in New York by two brothers; Dr. Steven Ruden and Dr. Ronald Ruden. They developed Havening over 20 years ago; and have been studying and sharing their research and treatment success ever since. Ongoing development and strenuous research continue to this day. With the advent of sophisticated instruments, scientists are now able to begin to peer into the unbelievably complex world of the brain and for the first time see activity in real time. The Havening Techniques utilizes this information to develop protocols that allow for internal regulation of our systems without the introduction of external measures.
What was discovered?
Research conducted to support Havening Techniques believes our amygdala is the prime player in holding onto our trauma and adverse experiences. As long as a specific emotional memory is encoded, our body will respond in the manner in which it believes will protect us. Much of our hardwired responsiveness is connected to the fundamental law of life….to survive. It is this ancient dictum that drives behavior. The brain/mind/body needs to accurately and rapidly respond to threats. This flight or fight paradigm is a whole-body experience that includes activating both sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
The development of the specific protocols for Havening Techniques were uniquely designed to safely and gently target the encoded emotional memory, and release it (depotentiation) from where it was being stored in the amygdala.
How it works
At the core of Havening Techniques lies the Havening Touch, a therapeutic approach involving gentle stroking movements on the arms, palms, and facial area. Whether self-applied (Self-Havening) or facilitated by a practitioner, this touch introduces slow wave currents (specifically, delta waves) that influence various parts of the brain, altering their structure and function.
By harnessing the electrical aspect, Havening Touch introduces these delta waves into the mind-body system. These waves are particularly unique because they are typically absent during waking hours and primarily present during sleep. As a result, Havening Touch induces a calm, slow, wave-like state within our system.
The magic of Delta waves: During Havening Touch, the release of delta waves triggers the production of relaxation response chemicals such as oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. It’s like a soothing symphony for our brain and body!
During the protocol of Havening Techniques, it is an essential part of the process to have both the encoded memory and associated emotional response to be activated. This sounds scary, but by introducing the Havening Touch immediately following this activation, the body is starting the “self-soothe” process. Now enter the cognitive component; activating our working memory. After activating our emotional memory, our brains now are tasked with shifting focus to our cognition. This is done by asking clients to conduct simple memory activities we call “distractions”. This can include word association, simple mathematics, visualizing movement, and even humming a tune or breathwork. The idea is not to test a person’s knowledge but to get their cortex engaged.
Distractions interrupt the continuous activation of the amygdala, preventing distressing thoughts from persistently resurfacing. Working memory, situated in the prefrontal cortex, can only hold one item at a time, making distraction essential for displacing emotionally charged memories. The continuous nature of distraction during Havening aims to keep the traumatic memory at bay. They provide the thinking brain with a different task, allowing the individual to re-narrate or re-script the moment of stress or anxiety consciously.
How this helps our clients
Havening Techniques is a rapid, gentle, and effective approach for helping our clients overcome innumerable distressing mental/emotional stressors. The Havening Techniques protocols endorse immediate production of Delta waves and “feel good” chemicals (Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin) promoting regulation of the nervous system. Combine with specific Havening Techniques protocols and clients are gently and successfully engaged in the process of removing distressing emotionally encoded responses. The Havening Technique also employs specific protocols that supports developing preferred states of emotional well-being and resiliency.
Self-Havening is a powerful treatment tool providers are able to easily instruct to clients using instruments that clients get to take with them-their hands! Teaching Self-Havening Touch to clients supports clients healing in session, as well as, builds muscle memory and confidence for clients when they are encouraged to practice between sessions, as well as, throughout their lives!
Nicole and Holli offer free introduction trainings on Havening Techniques. Whether one-on-one, in groups, or as team/agency trainings! To learn more, or to sign up for an informational training course or to sign up to become a Certified Havening Techniques Practitioner, please visit www.midwesthaven.com
