Havening is a therapeutic technique that’s gaining recognition for its gentle, effective approach to reducing stress, anxiety, and emotional distress. Havening was developed by Dr Ronald Ruden, a Harvard-trained medical doctor with a background in neuroscience. He created havening as part of a larger project to understand how trauma affects the brain and how to heal it. Dr Ruden and his twin brother, Dr Steven Ruden, are both pioneers in understanding how trauma impacts the brain’s neurobiology, specifically the way it stores memories that can later trigger anxiety and distress.
The technique emerged as a way to help people gently release these traumatic memories. The method, initially called Havening Touch, uses gentle, soothing touch on the arms, face, or hands in combination with other therapeutic elements, like visualisation or positive affirmations. Dr Ruden’s research showed that this combination creates a haven of calm, allowing the brain to reprocess painful memories or feelings and store them in a non-threatening way.
When we experience trauma, our brain’s amygdala often becomes overactive, creating associations between certain triggers and the memory of the traumatic event. This can lead to an exaggerated stress response or a feeling of being ‘stuck’ in the traumatic memory. Havening works by generating delta waves through soothing touch, which helps to release the memory’s ’emotional charge’ enabling people to finally feel relief from trauma that previously felt overwhelming.
Benefits of Havening
- Reduces Stress and Anxiety – By calming the amygdala and shifting traumatic memories, havening helps reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. This makes it particularly effective for people who have experienced panic attacks, PTSD, or general anxiety.
- Increases Emotional Resilience – Through regular practice, people using havening often find themselves more resilient in the face of stress. They may feel better equipped to handle life’s ups and downs without getting stuck in a cycle of worry.
- Promotes Physical Relaxation – Havening includes gentle touch, which by itself can signal the body to relax. This soothing aspect of the technique can also lower heart rate and blood pressure, helping the whole body return to a calm state.
- Improves Sleep – Many people report better sleep after using havening. Since sleep disturbances are often linked to stress and anxiety, this makes sense; as our stress response decreases, the body can settle into a restful sleep more easily.
- Enhances Self-Compassion and Positive Thinking – Affirmational havening, in particular, can help shift negative thought patterns into positive ones, improving self-esteem and self-compassion.
Exploring the Types of Havening
While havening can be applied in various ways, three primary forms have emerged, each with a unique focus: affirmational havening, event havening, and transpirational havening.
Affirmational Havening
Affirmational havening combines the soothing touch of havening with positive affirmations. Affirmations are carefully chosen positive statements that align with your goals, dreams, or values. With affirmational havening, you repeat affirmations that resonate with what you want to bring into your life—such as self-confidence, resilience, or peace.
For instance, if you’re dealing with self-doubt, you might say affirmations like, ‘I am enough’, or ‘I trust myself and my abilities’ while performing havening touches. This can help strengthen neural pathways related to self-belief and counterbalance self-critical thoughts.
Affirmational havening helps us retrain our inner dialogue by embedding positive beliefs into our subconscious mind. It’s a way to prime our brain for more uplifting and empowering self-talk, which can have a lasting effect on how we see ourselves. Over time, these affirmations can help people feel more grounded, confident, and empowered.
Event Havening
Event havening is designed to address particular traumatic memories or experiences that continue to impact us emotionally. This form of havening is often used in therapeutic settings, where clients work with a therapist to process distressing events such as accidents, painful breakups, or moments of intense fear.
In event havening, the client focuses on a specific memory while engaging in havening touch. The touch and visualisation work together to reduce the brain’s emotional attachment to the memory, essentially ‘re-encoding’ it in a way that feels neutral or even positive.
One of the beautiful aspects of event havening is that it allows people to face traumatic memories without feeling overwhelmed. Instead of reliving the trauma, they can engage with it gently, without being re-traumatised. This makes it particularly helpful for people dealing with PTSD, as it allows them to process difficult memories with a sense of safety.
Transpirational Havening
Transpirational havening is focused on envisioning future goals or overcoming fears about the future. ‘Transpirational’ refers to the concept of ‘transpiring’ or ‘coming to light’ so this form of havening is about allowing your goals, dreams, and aspirations to surface without fear or self-imposed limitations.
During transpirational havening, you might think about a future situation that usually triggers anxiety—such as a public speaking engagement or a challenging work task. You then apply havening touch while imagining yourself succeeding in that situation. By rehearsing success, transpirational havening helps desensitise your brain to the fear associated with these scenarios. It’s a way to pre-experience positive outcomes, training your mind to feel at ease in the situations you typically find stressful.
Transpirational havening has proven valuable for athletes, public speakers, and others who want to excel in high-pressure situations. By practicing transpirational havening, they’re able to visualise success and build the confidence they need to achieve their goals.
Is Havening Right for You?
Havening is generally safe and can be a useful tool for people dealing with a range of emotional struggles, from mild anxiety to more severe trauma. Because of its self-soothing nature, it’s also a great practice for self-care, even for those who are simply looking to manage stress in a healthier way.
If you’re interested in exploring havening further, consider connecting with a certified havening practitioner. Working with a professional can help you get the most out of the technique, especially if you’re dealing with deeply rooted trauma.
In a world that’s constantly moving and often filled with stress, havening offers a gentle way to create a sanctuary of calm. Whether you’re using affirmational havening to boost your self-esteem, event havening to work through painful memories, or transpirational havening to cultivate courage, havening can be a valuable tool for healing and personal growth. It’s like giving yourself the gift of self-compassion, one touch at a time.