How We Work
Havening
Havening is a psychosensory approach developed by Dr Ronald Ruden that uses gentle, self-applied touch — to the face, arms, and hands — to generate delta brainwaves that depotentiate (reduce the charge of) traumatic memories stored in the amygdala.
Psychosensory · Touch-based · Amygdala · Creswick, Brisbane & Online
What Is Havening?
Using touch to calm the nervous system
The Havening Techniques were developed from neuroscientific research into how traumatic memories are encoded and stored in the amygdala — the brain's threat-detection centre. Dr Ruden found that specific self-applied touch generates delta waves in the brain, and that these delta waves can disrupt the electrochemical bonds that keep traumatic memories encoded with high emotional charge.
During a Havening session, the client applies gentle strokes to their own arms, face, and hands while briefly activating the target memory. The combination of memory activation and the sensory input of touch allows the emotional intensity to reduce rapidly — often within minutes. The process is entirely in the client's control, as they are applying the touch themselves.
Havening is used at Bloom alongside other trauma approaches and is particularly valued for its ability to reduce acute distress quickly, as a stabilisation tool, and as a complement to EMDR for memories that carry very high emotional charge.
Havening can help with
- ✓Traumatic memories and PTSD
- ✓Phobias and specific fears
- ✓Anxiety and panic
- ✓Grief and acute emotional distress
- ✓Performance anxiety
- ✓Chronic stress and overwhelm
- ✓Shame and embarrassment
- ✓Somatic distress linked to emotional memories
The Process
What a Havening session looks like
Identifying the target and distress
Your therapist will guide you to briefly bring to mind the memory or distress you want to work with. You'll notice where you feel it, and rate its intensity. You never need to describe it in detail.
Applying the Havening touch
While maintaining a gentle awareness of the target, you apply the Havening strokes yourself — down the face, along the arms, across the palms. Your therapist guides the pace and timing. The touch generates the delta waves that facilitate processing.
Testing and consolidating
After each round, you return to the memory and notice whether the distress has changed. Most people experience significant reduction across several rounds. Your therapist will help you understand and consolidate the shifts.
Therapists trained in Havening
Available locations
FAQ
Common questions about Havening
Does Havening involve physical touch from the therapist?
No. All touch in Havening is self-applied by the client. Your therapist guides you in where and how to apply the touch, but they do not touch you. This keeps you fully in control throughout.
Is Havening evidence-based?
Havening is a newer approach with a growing body of research. While the neuroscientific theory behind it is well-developed, it is not yet as extensively validated as EMDR or CBT. At Bloom, it is used alongside established evidence-based therapies, not as a replacement for them.
Can I learn to use Havening myself?
Yes — self-Havening is one of the benefits of the technique. Your therapist can teach you how to use the Havening strokes as a self-regulation tool between sessions or in moments of acute distress.
Ready to Begin?
Ready to explore a different kind of healing?
Book an appointment or reach out with any questions. We'll help you find the right therapist and the right approach.