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What is Havening?


We find ourselves in an increasingly fast-paced age.  The world is growing together more and more globally, and at the same time, information is available almost immediately at the push of a button via the Internet and social media. We’re becoming more and more independent of physical boundaries and time factors – information overload, anywhere, anytime.


For all the advantages these changes bring about, the speed at which they are happening also bring problems: many people find it increasingly difficult to focus on themselves and thus on their own personal strengths and qualities.


Another fact to consider: The demands on therapy, coaching and change-work have grown immensely. No one wants to spend many years in therapeutic processes anymore just to find out where one's problems come from - but without having found any answers on how they can be solved. Results of psychotherapy and coaching need to be rapid and sustainable at best.


This is where Havening comes in: a revolutionary new technique developed in New York (USA) over the last twenty years and now used by hundreds of coaches, therapists and counsellors all around the world. With remarkable results: Not only does Havening yield impressive results in trauma therapy, it is also widely used in many other areas of therapy and coaching – ranging from mental sports coaching over pain therapy to deep healing and unleashing of inner resources.




Havening – a brief explanation


Havening Techniques use our inherent biological/neurological system to supply relief, symptom alleviation or healing on both a physical and mental/spiritual level.

Through therapeutically applied physical touch (gentle stroking movements) in the area of the arms, hands and face, the dominant brain frequencies are changed, while at the same time a release of helpful hormones takes place (serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine and GABA).

The Practitioners of Havening have a wide range of so-called process interventions at their disposal, from which they can choose - depending on the clients’ individual objectives and exact need for change - and which can be skillfully combined with each other.


Havening Touch can either be applied by the Practitioner, or he/she will guide you to perform the Havening Touch on yourself. Thanks to a sound and standardised training, officially certified Practitioners are so experienced that they know exactly what speed and what pressure is most useful in the process.


How did Havening come into being?


The key moment for the emergence of the Havening Techniques lies in 2001, when physician and neuroscientist Dr. Ronald M. Ruden had a professional discussion on the issue of trauma with a colleague and both were astonished to discover that there are quite a few methodologies in trauma therapy, some of which have dramatically different approaches - and yet again show great similarity in the critical time phase at the end of therapy, when the trauma is released and the clients can free themselves from the negative effects of traumatization.


Many roads lead to Rome, and it’s great for clients to have a variety of different treatment modalities to choose from. But then again: Why not come up with a road map that shows the exact pathways to Rome? Or, neurologically speaking: Even with different treatment modalities around, the neurological change processes taking place in the brain seem to be similar (if not the same) when trauma is released – so why not gather this knowledge and pinpoint the neurological pathways affected by trauma and show what happens with them when trauma is released?


Inspired by this conversation, Dr. Ruden tapped into his inner Sherlock Holmes and has spent many years on research, development and observation, bringing together practical trauma therapy and theoretical neurological knowledge. Which approaches have proven particularly successful in trauma therapy? Which interventions and techniques work better than average - and which work less well? Which studies prove to be particularly meaningful? And: How can the development of trauma be explained in the context of neuroscience?

The results of his research led to a book on trauma "When the Past is Always Present" and a little later to a collection of therapeutic techniques that use the natural healing power of touch on the basis of a neuroscientific explanatory model: The Havening Techniques.


After thousands of clients had experienced the effects of Havening in Dr. Ruden's New York practice, it was time to introduce other therapists and coaches to the technique. Thus, the first training to become a certified Havening Techniques Practitioner took place in London in May 2013. Further trainings followed, and since 2015, particularly qualified practitioners can also become trainers in this technique themselves after an extensive special training. The Havening community is now growing more and more every year, so that you can find hundreds of qualified practitioners all over the world - from Alaska to Zimbabwe, and everywhere in between. For more information, check out this video as well as www.havening.org

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