The Havening Techniques are a psychosensory approach that uses touch, attention and imagination to create electrochemical changes in the brain. This process is designed to depotentiate or de-traumatise memories and permanently remove their negative effects from both the psyche and body.
Havening is not considered a therapy, but a tool that can be integrated into any therapeutic or non-therapeutic modality. It is based on a neuroscientific understanding of how the brain processes and stores traumatic memories.
Key Principles of Havening
- Traumatic Encoding: When an event is perceived as traumatic or stressful, it becomes encoded in the brain, often with long-lasting consequences.
- Amygdala’s Role: The amygdala, a part of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly fear, ‘marks’ specific memories. These marked memories can trigger the fight/flight/freeze response when present-moment sensory input is perceived as a threat.
- Depotentiation: Havening facilitates the depotentiation of these encoded memories by changing their processing at the synaptic level. This means that the associated negative emotions are no longer triggered in the present moment.
- Touch, Attention, and Imagination: Havening uses touch, attention and imagination to activate electrochemical changes in the brain which in turn alters how memories are processed.
- Delta Waves: The Havening touch is thought to generate delta waves in the brain, which are associated with deep sleep. This helps to create a sense of safety and calm, promoting healing.
- Electrochemical System: The body is viewed as an electrochemical system, and Havening works by manipulating the electrical and chemical signals that influence our perceptions, memories and communications.
The Havening process typically involves:
- Recalling a traumatic event or emotion: The individual brings to mind a specific event or emotional state.
- Applying Havening touch: Gentle and soothing touch is applied to the upper arms, palms and around the eyes. This touch is similar to the way a mother soothes her child.
- Distraction: The individual performs simple distracting tasks, such as counting or humming, to help keep the traumatic memory from re-entering working memory.
This combination of touch, attention and distraction is believed to generate delta waves and promote the depotentiation of the encoded memory.
What Havening Can Do
Havening is a versatile tool that can be used to address a wide range of issues:
- Heal amygdala-based disorders such as panic attacks, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Reduce and eliminate the emotional roots of chronic pain.
- Relieve present-moment emotional discomfort.
- Increase resilience and well-being.
- Facilitate rapid and gentle emotional and psychological healing.
- Improve the effectiveness of other therapies by removing the amygdala filter from the therapeutic process.
- Create a sense of safety for both the client and the practitioner.
- Enable clients to access a calm and grounded state.
- Help individuals to feel more in control, when using it as a method of self-help.
- Promote a sense of connection and belonging between the client and practitioner.
- Support emotional self-regulation.
Types of Havening
There are several types of Havening Method, each with a specific purpose:
- Event Havening (EH): Targets specific events, de-linking the emotional content from the memory.
- Transpirational Havening (TH): Diffuses chronic emotional states by releasing the emotional content of multiple related events.
- Affirmational Havening: Installs positive patterns of thinking and feeling.
- Outcome Havening (OH): Alters the outcome of a recalled event, helping individuals feel empowered rather than victimized.
- Hopeful Havening (HH): Increases psychological wellbeing and resilience.
- Role Havening (RH): Allows for an internal experience of resolution in relationships by having the practitioner take the role of the person that caused distress.
- Iffirmational Havening: Used to move individuals along a path of acceptance that change is possible.
Who Can Use Havening?
Havening can be used by:
- Professionals: Therapists, coaches, nurses and other health professionals can integrate Havening into their practice to enhance the effectiveness of their work.
- Lay people: Individuals can learn self-havening for self-care and to help manage emotional distress.
- Parents and teachers: Havening can be used to help children self-regulate their emotions.
The Benefits of Havening
- Rapid results: Havening can produce significant changes quickly, often more rapidly than other approaches.
- Gentle process: Havening does not require revisiting painful memories in detail, so it is not re-traumatising for the client.
- Versatile Tool: Havening can be integrated with other therapeutic modalities to increase effectiveness.
- Empowering: Clients are empowered by learning how to self-haven and can use it as a tool for self-regulation.
- Safe: Havening is considered safe when used appropriately, and there are no known side effects.
- Content free: Havening can be used without the need to discuss the details of a traumatic event, making it useful for people who do not wish to talk about painful events.
- Can create feelings of safety and belonging: Havening can help to create a sense of safety and belonging for the client, which is vital for healing.
- Can be used for self-development and growth: In addition to healing trauma, Havening can be used to improve resilience, enhance well-being, and set new patterns of behaviour.
Conclusion
The Havening Techniques are a powerful tool for healing and personal growth. By utilising the body’s electrochemical system and the power of touch, Havening can help individuals release the grip of past traumas, manage their emotions more effectively and create a more positive future. It is easy to learn, gentle, and can be used by both professionals and lay people to help reduce suffering and enhance well-being.
Tags: Havening Techniques, psychosensory therapy, trauma, depotentiation, amygdala, touch therapy, emotional regulation, self-havening, delta waves, resilience