Havening Touch Techniques® in Fife – A Gentle Approach to Healing Trauma

What Is Havening?

Havening is a gentle, hands-on technique that helps the brain and body release stored trauma, stress, and emotional pain. It involves light, soothing touch, usually on the arms, hands, and face to help calm the nervous system and shift how your mind responds to past experiences.

It’s a powerful yet non invasive approach that supports deep emotional release, and it’s especially effective for people who have been holding onto trauma, anxiety, fear, or overwhelming emotions for years, sometimes without even realising it.

Havening doesn’t require you to relive traumatic events or explain everything in detail. That’s one of the reasons I use it in my practice here in Fife, it allows people to heal safely and gently.

How Havening Works

Havening Touch Techniques work with the brain’s neuroplasticity, its ability to change, adapt, and rewire. During a session, we use gentle touch alongside calming words and specific visualisations. This helps “de-link” the emotional charge from painful memories, so they no longer affect you in the same way.

The process helps the brain create new, safer associations. You don’t forget what happened, but the emotional intensity, fear, or anxiety attached to it begins to fade. Your nervous system learns to respond differently, from a place of calm rather than reactivity.

This is why Havening is particularly useful for trauma recovery, phobias, anxiety, and even chronic pain or shame.

The therapeutically applied, physical touch makes the subjective experience of receiving this method feel cathartic, liberating and soothing! Heart and soul feel refreshed, no matter what purpose you use it for.

Celebrity hypnotherapist, Paul Mckenna is a strong advocate for havening. It is NOT hypnotherapy.

What happens during a session?

1. Initial Consultation:
   • Discussion: The session begins with a brief discussion about your goals, concerns, and the specific issues you want to address. This helps the me understand your needs and tailor the session accordingly.

The Havening Touch Process

2. Identifying the Target Memory or Feeling:

   • Focus: You will be asked to think about a specific distressing memory, emotion, or physical sensation that you wish to alleviate. This helps to activate the emotional response associated with the memory.
   • Rating: You will then be asked to rate the intensity of your distress on a scale from 0 to 10 to establish a baseline.

3. Applying Havening Touch:

   • Gentle Touch: You will apply gentle, soothing touch to specific areas of your body. These areas include:
     • Arms: Lightly stroking from the shoulders down to the elbows.
     • Hands: Softly rubbing the palms and fingers.
     • Face: Gentle stroking of the forehead and cheeks.
   • Repetition: This touch is repeated in a rhythmic and calming manner, usually for several minutes.

4. Incorporating Distraction Techniques:

   • Counting: You may be asked to count backward from 20, 50, or 100, which helps to distract and occupy the conscious mind.
   • Visualizations: You might visualize a peaceful scene, such as a beach or forest, to help induce a state of relaxation.
   • Humming: Humming a tune or song you find soothing can also be part of the process.

Monitoring and Adjusting

5. Re-Evaluation:
   • Intensity Check: After a few minutes you will re-evaluate the intensity of your distress. This helps to gauge the effectiveness of the session.
   • Adjustments: Based on your feedback, I may adjust the technique or continue with additional rounds.

Closure and Integration

6. Closing the Session:
   • Discussion: The session concludes with a discussion about your experience. I may provide insights, affirmations, or additional techniques for you to practice at home.
   • Future Planning: If necessary, future sessions may be scheduled to continue the healing process.

What are the benefits?

• Helps with anxiety, including GAD & social anxiety
• Removes phobias
• Changes how you perceive traumatic/distressing memories
• Reduces feelings of anger, cravings & panic attacks
• Works with PTSD & grief/loss

There are several different types of Havening and depending on what is discussed in the session will depend on the one used. Some of these are:

• Event havening – where we work on a specific event
• Transporational havening – this uses the emotional state that is created by the event
• Outcome havening – where the outcome of an event is changed. So imagining the event and how you would like it to be
• Affirmational havening – using words such as “I am…”. This is done to reinforce the positive and overlooked qualities we have
• Hopeful havening – this is most often done at the end of the session
• Ifformational havening – This is a way of tempting the mind into the direction of more helpful opportunities