This is a recorded interview (podcast/YouTube) where Dr. Don Wood interviews Hillary Russo about Havening Techniques, a neuroscience-informed, touch-based method for trauma healing and self-regulation. Russo describes her qualifications (early certified practitioner), explains the method (gentle self- or practitioner-administered touch paired with a pleasant distraction to shift brainwaves toward delta states), lists claimed neurochemical effects (oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, GABA), and gives practical guidance (short daily self-havening, three touch types, and using it for everyday upset through to PTSD and chronic pain). She emphasizes safety (work with a trained practitioner for deep trauma) and using simple self-regulation tools in daily life.
Questions this video answers
About 700 in the world.
She said she is one of the first 500 certified worldwide and among the first 150 in the country.
Oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.
Two minutes of morning gratitude; she cited a (Harvard review) claim that starting the day with two minutes makes you 27% more likely to have a good day 6–8 hours later.
Chapters
Anything that brings you joy is a pleasant distraction. So when you're having a level of upset and you pair it with the havening touch and that distraction, that's where that little twist happens. And you're kind of telling your amygdala that loves to be in fight or flight, oh, I'm safe, I'm okay. Which is why we call it havening like a self, like a safe haven. Think about it, doctor. When you have a child and a child falls and skins its knee, the first thing you do is you grab that child and you say, it's okay, everything's okay. The worst is over. Right? And that's part of the basically what you're telling your amygdala, you're telling your amygdala, you're telling the brain the worst is over.
Welcome to my podcast. You must be out of your mind. And as you know, we always bring on these great guests that provide such amazing insight and it really ties into what we do. And my next guest is actually perfect for what we do. Then we're working and talking together about maybe doing some things together because I love what the message to cheese conveying out there and it ties in with what we do. So I want to welcome Hilary Russo to the. You must be out of your mind. Welcome, Hilary.
Thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure to be on the show.
Well, I was so excited when we got connected and we had a chance to talk. And I just love what you do. But rather than me try to tell everybody, why don't you explain it? Because you'll do a much better job.
Oh, well, thank you so much. Well, I am coach, so I am. I am the holistically speaking health coach. I love a good play on words. So I work in holistic health. I'm an integrative nutrition practitioner. I'm also a mental health practitioner, and I focus predominantly in an area called havening techniques. I'm one of the first 500 that is certified in this modality of only one of the first 500 in the world and first 150 in the country. There's only about 700 of us in the world. And what it is, it's a neuroscience based approach that uses touch and pleasant distraction to alter the landscape of the brain. Basically, we call it CPR for the amygdala because our brain loves to go to fight or flight. Right. We have to protect Amy. So the idea of what havening is, is it's using touch to put the brain in what they Call a delta wave state. And the delta waves are where the magic happens. We really don't get there unless we're in the sleep state. That's what delta waves are. And when that happens, it brings about a sense of calm. It releases the oxytocin, the serotonin, the dopamine, the GABA in the brain so that we can make better decision decisions. And it's great for those everyday upsets to deep rooted trauma. And as a trauma informed practitioner and also hypnotherapist, I use this in my practice regularly which is really important to hold space for people when they're stuck, when they need to get to the root of the issue. And things, things. And using tools like Havening can be a self regulated tool as well that we put in their own hands. So.
So they can do it themselves as well. You train them to do it themselves.
Yeah. So it is both can be facilitated by a practitioner like myself. Because as you know, working in this field as well, it's never a good idea to deal with the deeper upsets, the trauma work on your own. You should always be in a safe space. Feel that you have somebody who is trauma informed, trauma educated, works in that field that understands what it's like to hold space for you when you need it. But for the everyday things, for the, you know, being stuck in traff, not being able to focus, test taking. I mean I'm a college professor too. I use it with my students all the time. Or just the little irks that come up in the day that we have many. Right. We have thousands of thoughts a day and not all of them are positive. So when we have those feelings where we are not in the most positive space, being able to self regulate ourselves is really important. And that is the beauty of the modality and approach like Havening techniques. Because while it's neuroscience based, you have the tools in your own hands literally to be able to change your thoughts, moods, behaviors and habits.
I love that. So how long does it take? So if somebody wants to use it on their own, what would they be doing?
Well, sure, the ease of it. I mean it changes rapidly. This is an approach that actually has a rapid change with your brain and it can be as in as little as minutes. I mean you could sit there in two minutes. I wake up every morning and do gratitude moments without fail. I don't look at my phone. You know, there's studies out by the Harvard Research, Harvard Research review that says that two minutes of gratitude in the morning before you touch your phone before, before you read your emails, before you do anything. If you start your day with two minutes, you are 27% more likely to have a really good day six to eight hours later. So those two minutes are really important to me. I wake up and I do a little self havening in the morning. I just gently touch myself on my arms or my hands. It's almost like you're washing your hands or maybe going from your shoulders down to your elbows in a gentle stroke or even on your face, because we have so many nerves on our face as well. Those are the three different havening touches. And when you pair that with something like a positive distraction or a pleasant distraction, which could be thinking of a really great vacation you had or humming a tune, anything that brings you joy is a pleasant distraction. So when you're having a level of upset and you pair it with the havening touch and that distraction, that's where that little twist happens. And you're kind of telling your amygdala that loves to be in fight or flight, oh, I'm safe, I'm okay. Which is why we call it havening like a self, like a safe haven. And that's the term, right? Because think about it, Doctor. When you are, when you are in a place, when you have a child and a child falls and skins its knee, the first thing you do is you grab that child and you say, it's okay, everything's okay, the worst is over. Right? And that's basically what you're telling your amygdala, you're telling your amygdala, you're telling the brain the worst is over. You know, are those five to ten minutes of upsetting really meaning that the entire day is bad? Because we love to go into the fatalist approach, right? And this is a way of bringing yourself back and empowering yourself to change the trajectory of your brain, that neuroplasticity, and really change the brain waves to get into that habit of, oh, I can change the way I feel. You really do choose to choose, right?
Yep. And what's, what's interesting is, you know, a lot of people don't understand how quick you can do this, right. Because your system basically is operating in the present, right? So your subconscious is, is now. So if you start to do those kinds of techniques, your mind is going to go, oh, I'm safe now. Perfect. Yeah, it'll calm down.
And, and that's the beauty of any work we really do is where we're, we're really learning to change the way we think is that the brain doesn't know if something's happening right now or later. The brain doesn't understand the landscape. If you go into freakout mode, the brain's thinking something's happening right now. So a perfect example is if you get into a fender bender, and the minute you pass that intersection again that you had that fender bender five years ago, your brain is going to think it's happening right now. Because what happens, you get clammy hands, your heart starts racing, your foot goes pedal to the metal because you're like, get me out of danger. And what Havening kind of does is it allows you to realize you're safe, you're okay. It's not happening right now. It's almost like that jack in the box. Every time we see that jack in the box, right? And they're all the same, right? The minute the jack in the box and you turn that handle and it plays Pop Goes the Weasel, the minute it opens up, you kind of pop back because something's coming at you. Havening is kind of like the wire cutters that cuts that wire, and Jack's still in there, and Jack might still come out, but he's not coming out at you full throttle. So you have a minute to kind of think about things. And that's kind of what haven't, like, the wire cutters in that situation. Because, like, if. If something is a trauma, by definition, to be trauma encoded, it has to be an event that took place. There has to be a landscape to it, to the brain. There has to be a meaning that you put to it, and there has to be a feeling of inescapability. That's trauma encoding. So when you have those things present, you can honestly tell the brain, it's okay, you're okay, you're safe, the worst is over. Bring it back, bring it down. Find that sense of calm. And it can really be used for anything from, you know, like I said, the everyday upsets to stress, anxiety, feelings associated with depression, ptsd, chronic pain. I mean, I'm. I'm a survivor of a traumatic surgery from having tmj. And it is trauma lives in your body as you know, for as long as you allow it to. It's just how much you're going to let it be that volcano, right? And how much you're just going to have it be dormant and take it and have the control over it.
Yeah, we use something similar. So it's not. It's a different kind, but it's the same principle, right? We get the mind to Recognize a particular symbol, statement and anchor as safety. And when you use that, the mind goes, well, I can't be in danger if I'm experiencing this now. And so it's made that association and connection to it, so it calms down. And so it just. It just works.
And that's the beauty of what you're doing. And what I'm doing is that the more tools we have in the toolbox, the better there's that what might be right for somebody that you're supporting might be different for someone unsupporting. They might decide that they love both things that are in the toolbox. Because sometimes you need the hammer, sometimes you need the screwdriver. Right. Sometimes you need the support of Dr. Wood or Hilary Russo to help you hold up the shelf a little bit. So it's a level. And that's, I think, the beauty. Like I call it brain candy. It's the sweetest ways to be kind to your mind. And we have that ability to really pick out what we want from the brain candy jar and decide what we need in that moment.
Yeah, no, I like that. I love the terminology use. It's excellent. People get that, right? So it's.
Yeah, they do. Who doesn't love candy, really?
Exactly. When we talk about. One of the things I wanted to bring up, too, is, you know, a lot of the studies are showing that after these school shootings, that where most of the post traumatic stress seems to be coming from is when the children see their parents for the first time. And just like you were talking about, they're looking for hold me, I'm safe. And they see panic and fear, and all of a sudden they realize the world's not safe. Even my parents don't feel safe right now.
Yeah.
They're trying to counsel parents that when you see your child, you have to be. Not that you really want to be smiling in this situation, but you've got to appear friendly and safe for them to approach you. And that calms their system down.
