Psychosensory therapy is a third therapeutic pillar that involves the application of non-specific sensory input to generate an extrasensory response to effect a beneficial change, either transiently or permanently within the brain. This approach differs from talk therapy (psychotherapy) and drug therapy (psychopharmacology). In psychosensory therapy, the active ingredient is called an electroceutical, which broadly encompasses anything that employs electrical stimulation to affect and modify brain functioning. This stimulation can be generated extra-corporally or from the stimulation of receptors imbedded in our body (intra-corporally). Havening uses touch to internally create electroceutical delta waves in the brain. Mindful touch is also considered a form of psychosensory therapy, where sensory input, rather than language or chemicals, is used to change people’s moods, sensations, thinking, and behaviour.
When someone receives psychosensory therapy, particularly Havening, several neurological processes are believed to occur. Havening Touch is thought to generate significant delta wave production in the brain, which are slow wave electroceuticals. Under normal circumstances, slow wave activity does not occur in the awake adult. Therefore, by applying Havening Touch, the electroceutical delta wave and/or slow wave is being introduced, essentially making someone awake in a deep sleep. This generation of these waves in the awake state has profound effects on neuronal function.
One of the key mechanisms proposed for Havening Techniques, particularly Event Havening, is amygdala depotentiation. During the encoding of a traumatic event, neural pathways are laid down in the brain. Event Havening aims to de-link the emotional/somatic content from the retrieved memory, thereby removing the distressing components. This is thought to occur through synaptic (receptor) depotentiation (removal) on a neuron, particularly in the amygdala. Literally, receptors on neurons in the amygdala are removed, disrupting the pathway laid down during the traumatic event. This process is facilitated by the paradoxical situation created when activating a memory while applying Havening Touch, where the individual is aroused but feels safe, potentially due to the generation of delta waves. It is speculated that the delta waves and the increase in GABA, a neurotransmitter that inhibits norepinephrine and serotonin, play a role in this process, similar to what is observed during deep sleep. By reducing the impact of pain and stress on the mind and body, Havening Touch can enhance feelings of well-being. Self-havening gives the amygdala a safe haven in which she is able to heal.
In Transpirational Havening, where an individual chants an emotion while receiving Havening Touch, it is theorised that the chanting calls to a specific area of the brain where events containing that emotion are stored. It is also speculated that Havening Touch decreases norepinephrine and serotonin, allowing for the associative process to be loosened, so that other events co-encoded with the chanted emotion can become available to conscious awareness and be depotentiated.
More broadly, psychosensory therapies like Havening harness neuroplasticity, the brain’s capacity to change across one’s life. The application of gentle touch on specific body areas sends signals to brain parts actively engaged in behaviour. The use of attention, imagination, distraction, and touch creates a dynamic healing and restoring environment within the system, leading to electrochemical changes in the mind and body.
Various types of psychosensory therapies exist today, including:
These therapies can be broadly grouped into those where the mind is activated by a particular memory and those where it is not. Therapies above the line (memory-focused) have the potential to de-encode the emotional, cognitive, and sensory components of a traumatising event. All of these therapies can also downregulate the response to stressors and prevent the generation of symptoms.
Havening Techniques, also known as Delta Wave Techniques, are a psychosensory treatment that uses simple touch to permanently eliminate unwanted feelings, both somatic and emotional, from distressing memories and events. These techniques are also useful for promoting professional and personal growth. The method is derived from and consistent with current neuroscience literature. Havening Techniques are described as easy to learn, self-applied, rapid, gentle, and essentially without side effects.
The goal of Havening is to create a sense of safety. The very name ‘Havening’ comes from the idea of providing a safe haven for the amygdala to heal. Event Havening specifically targets emotionally traumatic events and aims to alter the response to a recalled traumatically encoded event by de-linking the emotional/somatic content from the memory, leading to a sense of detachment. Transpirational Havening addresses emotion-related issues by focusing on the feeling itself. Affirmational Havening is related to one’s internal landscape and encoding positive feelings. Other types include Outcome, Hopeful, Role, and Iffirmational Havening, representing different approaches to help emotional wounds heal and improve resilience.
A Havening practitioner works by guiding the client through a process that often involves recalling a distressing event or emotion. The practitioner will then instruct the client to engage in simple touch, known as Havening Touch, which is typically gentle and soothing, applied to the upper arms, palms, and around the eyes. The client can self-apply this touch (Self-Havening), or the practitioner can apply it (Facilitated Havening), which is often considered the most powerful. Facilitated Self-Havening involves the practitioner guiding the touch while the client performs it. The decision on who applies touch is solely left to the client.
Simultaneously with the touch, the practitioner may ask the client to perform simple distracting tasks, such as counting out loud, visualising walking up stairs, or humming a familiar tune. This dual focus on the distressing memory/emotion and the sensory input of touch and distraction is believed to facilitate the neurological changes. The practitioner’s role is to be unhurried, supportive, and friendly, helping the client locate and activate the emotional core of the issue.
Havening can also be used in a content-free manner. This is particularly helpful for clients who are reluctant to disclose the details of a traumatic experience. In such cases, the practitioner focuses on the emotional and physical sensations the client is experiencing without needing to know the specific story. The practitioner guides the client to bring the emotions into awareness while applying Havening Touch, aiming to depotentiate the associated distress without requiring verbal recounting of the trauma.
Practitioners often explain the neuroscience behind Havening to clients, helping them understand that the touch is a tool based on neurobiology and is intended to create a sense of safety and facilitate healing. This explanation can be particularly important when addressing concerns about touch, especially for individuals with a history of abuse. The goal is to place the touch within a therapeutic context, removing any potential for misinterpretation.
Havening practitioners may integrate Havening Techniques with other therapeutic modalities. It is seen by some as a “bolt-on tool” that can supplement every other modality. The understanding gained from Havening about neurobiological processes can also inform how practitioners work with clients in general, even when not directly using the techniques.
Psychosensory therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses sensory input to create changes in the brain, offering an alternative to traditional talk therapy and medication. Havening Techniques, a type of psychosensory therapy, uses gentle touch, often combined with distraction, to address distressing memories and emotions. It is theorised that Havening works by generating delta brain waves and promoting depotentiation in the amygdala, the brain region involved in processing emotions and trauma. A Havening practitioner guides clients through the process, which can involve recalling distressing experiences or focusing on emotions while applying specific touch protocols. Havening can be facilitated by the practitioner or self-applied by the client, and can even be effective without the client needing to disclose the specific details of a traumatic event. Havening is considered a rapid, gentle, and neuroscientifically grounded approach to healing and personal growth that can be integrated with other therapeutic methods.
Tags: Psychosensory Therapy, Havening Techniques, Delta Waves, Amygdala Depotentiation, Trauma Healing, Touch Therapy, Neuroplasticity, Electroceutical, Mental Health, Wellbeing.
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