Safe and Sound Book Review: Should You Buy It?

Justin Sunseri reviews 'Safe and Sound' by Steven Porges and Karen Onderko. The book delves into the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), offering 13 real-life case studies and insights from Porges, the creator of Polyvagal Theory. Justin breaks down who the book is for, its content, and his thoughts on its genuine attempt to provide hope and comprehensive information about SSP. If you're curious about SSP and familiar with Polyvagal Theory, this review will help you decide whether this book can be a valuable addition to your collection.

Watch the interview with the authors on YouTube (or listen to the previous episode on your podcast player) - https://youtu.be/KAPPQwk5LYI

00:00 Safe and Sound Book Review: Should you Buy it?

00:29 About the Safe and Sound book

01:50 What is the point of the Safe and Sound book?

03:47 Who is the Safe and Sound book for?

05:28 Overall thoughts on the Safe and Sound book

08:24 Do I recommend buying the Safe and Sound book?

09:15 Outro to Stuck Not Broken episode 255

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🔸 Free resources and course in the Members Center - https://www.justinlmft.com/members

🔸 Join the Unstucking Academy - https://www.stucknotbroken.com/unstuckingacademy

🔸 Polyvagal Intro webpage - https://www.justinlmft.com/polyvagalintro

🔸 Stuck Not Broken book series - https://www.justinlmft.com/books

🔸 Polyvagal 101 audio series - https://player.captivate.fm/collection/cce134e7-1550-4d33-8e56-738d344c63b0

Crisis resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1 [phone]
• National Domestic Violence Hotline -1 [phone]
• LGBT Trevor Project Lifeline - 1 [phone]
• National Sexual Assault Hotline - 1 [phone]
• Crisis Text Line - Text “HOME” to 741741
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This and other content produced by Justin Sunseri (“JustinLMFT”) (i.e; podcast, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) is not therapy, not intended to be therapy or be a replacement for therapy.  Nothing in this creates or indicates a therapeutic relationship.  Please consult with your therapist or seek for one in your area if you are experiencing mental health symptoms.  Nothing should be construed to be specific life advice; it is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

Justin Sunseri is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist registered in the State of California (#99147).

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Safe and sound, a polyvagalapproach for connection change.
Hope and healing is nowavailable, but should you get it?
Is it helpful?
Uh, who's it for?
What's actually in it?
I'll answer these questions in thisbook review episode and help you
decide whether to get it or not.
Hi, my name is Justin Sunseri.
I am a therapist and coach who helpsyou live more calmly, confidently, and

(00:24):
connected without psychobabble or woo woo.
Welcome to Stuck Not Broken.
Safe and Sound is written by StevenPorges, the Polyvagal theories
creator, and Karen Onderko- she reallybrought the Safe and Sound Protocol
from the lab into the clinical world.
The majority of the book is devoted to 13real life stories of individuals who have

(00:49):
undergone the Safe and Sound Protocol.
The people in the stories come toSSP for many, many different reasons.
Everything from throatcomplaints to dissociation.
These people didn't necessarily seekout SSP, but their providers implemented
SSP into what they were doing.

(01:10):
Some people sought out SSP.
They have a wide, the, the clientshave a wide range of diagnoses,
and the SSP providers come from aequally wide range of professional
disciplines, from therapists to coachesto physical therapists and more.
Polyvagal informed case breakdownsfrom Dr. Porges himself follow

(01:32):
the stories, and that was reallymy favorite part of the book.
The Safe and Sound Book alsohas other sections in it.
And those include a listing of the primaryand mixed states, which I thought was
really thorough and really well done.
It also has a self-regulation toolboxwith a whole bunch of, uh, options
in it for you and a whole bunch more.
So what's the point of the book?
During my interview with theauthors, which also came out today,

(01:55):
Karen in particular expressedconcern that the book might come
across, uh, like an advertisement.
I don't think it reads likean advertisement, personally.
Uh, I was definitely worried aboutthat before when I got it, but I
don't think it comes across that way.
It reads as a genuine attempt to shareinformation about the safe and sound

(02:16):
intervention and it, the application ofSSP as well as the stories of success.
So again, I was kind of expectingit to be an ad, but I didn't get
that when I actually read it.
I don't think you will either.
You could watch and listen to that episodethrough the link in the description.
It's out now.
The safe and sound.
Book is fundamentally about the Safe andSound Protocol and how it benefits the

(02:40):
client, the individuals, the clients,although there are a few other sections
that supplement, uh, the contentthat supplement the client stories.
The authors wanted the book to providean avenue for hope, and I think
they accomplished that personally.
Anyone interested in SSP is going to getthe answers that they're looking for.
Before reading this book, I was familiarwith SSP, but I didn't really know

(03:03):
much about it, and I didn't know muchabout it in detail really at all.
Um, but I'd heard about it.
I had read a little bit about it, andI had heard from people who had gone
through it that are part of my communitythat they share their experience.
So I, I knew a little bit aboutit, but really it was more
something I was, SSP was somethingthat I was really curious about.
The book Satisfied all my curiositiesabout SSP- how it works and

(03:27):
what the music is like, and whatthe evidence is for it as well.
So for me, it solidified that SSP is aviable intervention with real results.
And my interview with Karen andDr. Porges took that even further
and clarified for me even further.
I really invite you tolisten to that as well.
So, who is the Safe andSound book for exactly.

(03:52):
That's kind of a tough one to answerbecause I'm not entirely sure.
It seems like it's for anyone whoalready knows about the Polyvagal
Theory, although it does have a briefrundown of the Polyvagal Theory within
it and the autonomic nerve systemand the primary and the mixed states.
So it's for anyone who's alreadya, has some level of knowledge of
Polyvagal Theory, not for the beginner.

(04:13):
So it's someone who has thatknowledge and is curious about SSP.
It's a super niche populationI think that they're targeting.
So very, very small group of people.
So if you are curious about SSP and havea pretty good knowledge of the Polyvagal
Theory, then yeah, this book is for you.
You will get your questions answeredwhether you're a client or a

(04:37):
potential professional providerthat that's interested in SSP.
You'll get those questions answered.
And yeah, the book's foryou, that much is clear.
If you're looking for anavenue of hope, then, yeah, I,
I think the book is for you.
If you're wondering whether SSP would behelpful for you as a provider to a client,

(04:58):
then yeah, I think you'll get thoseanswers as well and the book is for you.
The book is kind of for everybody, butreally only the everybody's that have
extremely specific interests, which isPolyvagal Theory and the Safe and Sound
Protocol, and are providers or potentialclients to receive the SSP interventions.

(05:20):
Very specific.
The intention of the book is toprovide hope, and it accomplishes
that no matter who the audience is.
Okay, so my overall thoughtsabout the Safe and Sound Book.
Overall I liked it.
It's a interesting read.
The case studies are really the heartof the book and are not disappointing.

(05:42):
I especially liked the casebreakdowns from Dr. Porges and
uh, I wish that the book spentmore time on the case breakdowns.
Those were, to me the most significant.
But I'm, I'm provider and I read hisprimary source stuff and I implement
Polyvagal Theory into everything I do.
So that really hooked me.

(06:03):
So I especially like the casebreak breakdowns, and I wish that
they had spent more time on those.
The case breakdowns are fairly short,but they do contain some really
good nuggets that I think could haveused some more love and attention
and really been expanded upon.
There- there was a lot here thatcould have gone deeper and wasn't.

(06:23):
Outside of the case studies,and outside of Dr. Porges'
breakdown of the case studies.
The rest of the book is fine.
Um, there's a brief rundownof the Polyvagal Theory.
I don't know who needs that at thispoint, that has covered so many
places and for free, but it's there.
There is a, and that seems to bestandard in the Polyvagal Book world,
is here's a chunk on the theory itself.

(06:45):
There's, I even have my own book.
The first book is allabout Polyvagal Theory.
Anyhow, there's a comprehensive list inthe book of the primary and the mixed
states with some discussion on each.
I thought they did areally good job with that.
It was very comprehensive.
Um, there's a section on someregulation ideas and short and long-term
effects of autonomic dysregulationon various bodily systems, which I

(07:09):
thought was pretty darn interesting.
I haven't seen that anywhere else.
So I liked that section.
That's probably something I'llrefer to, um, well as needed.
So all these pieces areinteresting in and of themselves.
They, they could live aloneas books on their own, like
they could be expanded upon.
So they're interesting in and ofthemselves, but the book as a whole

(07:30):
doesn't feel like a well thought outsingle piece of nonfiction literature.
These other sections feel more likepage padding in all honesty, like they
were brought together to make the booklonger, or wel- more well-rounded,
but it strikes me as unnecessary.
Interesting.
But unnecessary.
I don't hate that it's there, butI don't need 'em there either.

(07:52):
So I don't think it hurts theexperience and probably should
not deter you from buying it.
Just my thoughts.
It's helpful, it's interesting, but it'salso unnecessary and I would prefer to see
more time spent on the case studies, maybemore case studies or a deeper analysis
of each case study, especially from Dr.Porges- hearing his, the primary source

(08:13):
expert level, um, thoughts on those.
So really the case discussions are whatyou're buying the book for, I would argue.
The rest of the material is there.
Um, but not essential.
Do I recommend buyingthe Safe and Sound Book?
Um, if you're curious about SSP and youknow, the Poly Vehicle Theory and you have
$21 to spend on Amazon, then yeah, sure.

(08:36):
I, I recommend it.
At the very least, itsatisfies your curiosity.
And I also think that it provides theavenue for hope that they were hoping for.
Like, well, that they wrote the book for.
I think they accomplished that.
So if you need an avenuefor hope, um, then yeah.
I think this accomplishes that,and it will provide it for you.
If you're ready to try somethingnew and you're interested in SSP.

(08:58):
Yeah, this book does a really goodjob of explaining what SSP is, what
it could look like, who it's for.
So yeah, overall, I, I do recommend for21 bucks if you're interested, if you know
the Polyvagal Theory and you specificallywant information on, on SSP, then yeah,
I, I definitely recommend the book.
Thank you so much for joiningme here on Stuck Not Broken.
You can buy a copy of the bookthrough the link in the description.

(09:21):
Please note though that using thatlink will provide me a portion of
the sale at no extra cost to you.
It's part of the AmazonInfluencer program.
Thank you again for joining me,and I will see you the next one.
Bye.