The Baffling Behavior Show {Parenting after Trauma}

Ep. 48: The Safe & Sound Protocol: Strengthening the Foundation of the Brain

14 snips

Aug 24, 2021

Melissa Corkum, co-founder of The Adoption Connection Podcast and an adoptive mom, shares her expertise on the Safe and Sound Protocol, a tool designed to enhance emotional safety for children. She discusses the neuroception system and how sound cues contribute to feelings of security, especially for those affected by trauma. Melissa also reflects on her personal journey as an adoptee, highlighting the importance of understanding behavior through neurological lenses. Unpacking practical strategies for parenting, she emphasizes community support and innovative approaches for fostering connection.

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ANECDOTE

Melissa's Adoption Journey

Melissa Corkum, an adoptee, married a man who wanted to adopt.
Their first adoption was challenging, leading her to study trauma and attachment.

INSIGHT

Neuroception and Sound

Our neuroception constantly scans for safety cues, often misinterpreted after trauma.
Sound is a primary input for neuroception; we instinctively adjust our voice for infants.

ANECDOTE

Forgotten Pickup

Melissa forgot to pick up her neurotypical son, who reacted with understanding.
However, her other children with trauma would have likely reacted differently.

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Melissa Corkum was the obvious guest to invite on the podcast as part of this Building the Foundation Brain Series. Melissa was adopted as an infant from Korea and is also a adoptive mom. She is the co-host and co-founder of The Adoption Connection Podcast- which has now evolved into so much more than a podcast.

Melissa has been supporting adoptive families for many years, training in the Empowered to Connect parenting curriculum that is connected to Trust Based Relational Intervention over ten years ago. She studies neuroscience and parenting in between raising kids- including at times, homeschooling!- and now offers education, hope and healing to other adoptive families.

Melissa could be a guest that talks about so many different topics but I invited her to the podcast this time to talk specifically about how she uses The Safe and Sound Protocol to support kids and families.

The Safe and Sound Protocol

Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges (the theorist behind Polyvagal Theory), The Safe and Sound Protocol--in the simplest terms—resets the neuroception system. The neuroception system is the system that determines felt-safety based on cues received through relationship, the environment, and our own inner experience.

All of our senses (touch, sight, smell, proprioception, etc.) play a role in helping the neuroception system determine our level of safety. The Safe and Sound Protocol specifically aims to help our auditory system take in “cues of safety” from sounds. Melissa explains that Dr. Porges hypothesized that if we could hyper-expose the ears to ‘sounds of safety’ (specifically, the frequency of the human voice) then the nervous system could in a way be ‘reset’ so it could actually take in sounds of safety.

This is episode 2 in the Strengthening the Foundation of the Brain series.

Would you rather read about the Safe and Sound Protocol? CLICK HERE.

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