Havening Techniques – Release Trauma, Reduce Stress, and Build Resilience

Havening Techniques are a gentle, innovative approach to healing that helps you release the emotional and physical effects of past trauma, stress, and anxiety. This method uses soothing touch, calming words, and visualisation to create a sense of safety while rewiring how the brain stores distressing memories.

The word “Havening” comes from the idea of creating a safe haven in the mind and body. It allows you to feel calm and supported while working through painful experiences, enabling long-lasting emotional freedom and resilience.

Havening has been shown to be highly effective for a wide range of issues, including anxiety, trauma, PTSD, phobias, stress, panic attacks, low self-esteem, and even chronic pain. Whether you’re struggling with a recent event or a memory from years ago, this technique provides a safe and empowering way to move forward.

What Are Havening Techniques and How Do They Work?

Havening is a psychosensory therapy, which means it works through the senses — in this case, touch — to influence how the brain processes and stores memories. When you experience trauma or extreme stress, the memory becomes locked in the brain along with the intense emotions and physical sensations that were present at the time.

When similar situations arise, your brain and body can react as though the original event is happening again. This is why you may feel sudden fear, panic, or stress when triggered by certain sights, sounds, or even smells.

Havening uses soothing, gentle touch applied to the arms, face, and hands, combined with specific techniques and visualisation exercises. This process helps to calm the nervous system, lower stress hormones, and reprocess the memory so that it no longer feels threatening.

Over time, the emotional charge associated with the memory fades, allowing you to feel calmer, more balanced, and free from the old patterns that were holding you back.

The Science Behind Havening

When we experience trauma, the amygdala — the brain’s fear centre — becomes hyperactive, storing the memory alongside strong negative emotions. This can lead to triggers that cause overwhelming feelings of anxiety, fear, or distress, even long after the event.

Havening works by activating delta brain waves, which are associated with deep relaxation and safety. The gentle touch and structured process send signals to the brain that help to:

• Reduce the body’s fight-or-flight response

• Switch off the emotional charge connected to the memory

• Lower cortisol and other stress hormones

• Rewire neural pathways so the memory no longer causes distress

This creates a sense of calm and safety, helping you respond to situations in a more balanced and confident way.

What Havening Can Help With

Havening is a versatile technique that can be used for a wide variety of challenges, including:

• Healing from trauma or PTSD

• Reducing stress and anxiety

• Overcoming phobias or fears

• Building self-confidence and resilience

• Coping with grief or loss

• Relieving physical symptoms linked to stress, such as headaches or tension

Because Havening is so gentle, it can be used safely with both adults and children.

What to Expect in a Havening Session

Your first session begins with a relaxed, confidential conversation where we explore your needs, concerns, and goals. Together, we will identify what you’d like to focus on, whether that’s a specific memory, a recurring feeling, or a behaviour you’d like to change.

During the session:

1. I will guide you through the Havening process step by step, explaining everything along the way.

2. Gentle, calming touch will be applied to the arms, hands, and face, which you can also self-apply if preferred.

3. We’ll use visualisation and other techniques to safely process the experience.

4. Many people notice a sense of deep calm, relief, or even lightness as the session progresses.

Afterwards, you may feel relaxed and peaceful, or you might experience vivid dreams or emotional shifts as your brain continues to integrate the changes. I will provide aftercare advice to support you in the days following your session.

Havening for Children

Children can benefit greatly from Havening, as it provides a safe and nurturing way to work through fears, anxieties, or upsetting experiences. Because the process is gentle and soothing, it feels natural and comforting for young people.

It can help children with:

• Nightmares and sleep problems

• Anxiety or excessive worry

• Fear of school or social situations

• Processing upsetting events or accidents

• Building confidence and emotional resilience

Sessions are adapted to be age-appropriate and fun, giving children a positive experience of emotional healing.

Why Choose Havening?

Havening offers a safe, non-invasive, and natural way to release stress and emotional pain while building inner strength. It can be used alongside other therapeutic approaches or as a stand-alone method.

Benefits of Havening include:

• Rapid relief from emotional distress

• Gentle and safe for people of all ages

• Tools you can learn to use on your own between sessions

• Lasting results as the brain rewires its response to old memories

Many clients notice profound changes after just one or two sessions, making it an efficient and effective choice for emotional healing.

Take the First Step Towards Healing

If you’ve been carrying the weight of past experiences, living with stress, or feeling stuck in old patterns, Havening can help you break free. This gentle, powerful technique provides a pathway to emotional balance, resilience, and peace of mind.

Book your first Havening session today and begin your journey toward healing and lasting change.
You deserve to feel safe, calm, and free.