How I work
Havening Techniques® sessions
Havening Techniques® is a gentle psychosensory method developed by Dr Ronald Ruden. It uses simple touch, attention and distraction to change how a distressing experience is held in the brain, so the memory stays but the alarm attached to it can let go.
It is the foundation of every session I run. You can book Havening specifically, and it is the same 90 minute session, the same price and the same way of working as Jentle Soma.
Why Havening matters to me
I am a practitioner, a trainer and an adviser to the board for Havening Techniques. Havening saved my life. It gave me back myself. It cleared my biggest stickies, it steadies me when life wobbles me, and it primes me to live authentically, as a conduit for love, with the freedom to shine on the path for others to walk.
What a Havening session feels like
You bring something to mind, briefly. You don't have to tell me what it is. Then we use touch, the oldest signal of safety we know. In my sessions it is your own: the palms of your own hands, with me doing it alongside you.
Havening Techniques® is not one technique. There are seven different protocols, each suited to a different kind of experience, from a single memory to a feeling you can't pin to anything at all. Part of my job is choosing the right one for what you bring, and you always have a say in how we work.
We check in as we go, and keep going until it settles. For many people the shift starts within minutes.
You stay awake, aware and in charge throughout. You don't have to relive anything, and you can stop at any point.
Questions people ask about Havening
Does Havening really work?
In my sessions, I see it work every day, often gently and quickly. Many of my clients have tried other approaches first. What they tell me is that Havening was gentler than they expected, that they didn't have to relive anything, and that they could feel it working in the session itself.
The research is early but encouraging. A King's College London study found a single session of Havening reduced anxiety and depression scores, with the improvement still there two months later. A 2022 Nottingham Trent University study found sessions with Havening Touch reduced distress faster than the same sessions without it, with matching changes in brain activity. Both studies were small, and that isn't yet the proof Western medicine asks for. That's why I measure my own outcomes, in public.
Is Havening the same as EMDR?
No, but they're cousins. Both are psychosensory approaches, using sensory input to change how a distressing memory is held. EMDR uses eye movements or alternating taps. Havening uses gentle touch, which in my sessions is your own hands.
The main difference is where your attention goes. In EMDR you hold the memory in mind throughout. In Havening you only bring it up briefly.
Researchers on both sides have proposed a similar mechanism: that the sensory input produces slow, delta-type brain waves like those of deep sleep, which may weaken the link between a memory and its alarm. For Havening, this is the working theory of its founder, Dr Ronald Ruden. For EMDR, it's one of several hypotheses. A 2022 study also found Havening Touch was linked with reduced gamma activity in the brain.
EMDR has a large body of clinical trials and is recommended for PTSD in the UK. Havening is newer, and its research is still small. That's one of the reasons I measure my own outcomes.
Is this the Havening I've seen Paul McKenna use?
What Paul McKenna shares on TV, in his books and online is a short self-help taster of Havening. What I offer is the full practice: certified Havening Techniques® work, one to one and at your pace, where we find what is firing for you, choose the right approach for it, and test what has changed.
If you've tried a version of Havening from a video, a book or an online course and it only went so far, that's common. A one to one session is where we find what is firing for you, and work with it properly.
If you are interested in learning the full, official Havening Techniques® practitioner training, I also train practitioners through Jenesis Training →
Is Havening safe?
Yes, incredibly safe. Havening uses the natural bonding of human touch, the same soothing touch that tells a newborn they are safe. The most common effect, especially after a first session, is feeling incredibly tired, so be kind to yourself afterwards. You stay in control throughout. Havening is not crisis support, and it sits alongside medical and mental health care, never in place of it.
Can I do Havening on myself?
Yes. Self-Havening is part of every session I run, and you leave with simple ways to use it between sessions to steady your system when life gets loud.
Can I get Havening on the NHS?
Havening is not yet available on the NHS. Sessions with me are private. If you need NHS mental health support, your GP is the place to start.
Is this right for you?
This work is for people who are stable and supported. If you are in crisis right now, please contact your GP, NHS 111 or the Samaritans on 116 123 first.
Sessions are 90 minutes, in person in Walton-on-Thames or online by Zoom wherever you are in the world. Fees and booking →
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