HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article
Front. Glob. Women’s Health
Sec. Maternal Health
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1619273
This article is part of the Research TopicEmotionally-centred Perinatal Care, Practices and ExperiencesView all 9 articles
Havening: A psycho-sensory therapy for enhancing emotional resilience and psycho-emotional wellbeing across the perinatal period
Provisionally accepted
- 1Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2Sunrising Midwifery New York, New York, United States
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Havening, a psycho-sensory therapy, is increasingly recognized for its potential in supporting perinatal psycho-spiritual and emotional health. By employing gentle touch and guided imagery, Havening aims to reduce distressing emotions and enhance well-being. This article explores its application on emotional processing in perinatal care, with a particular focus on its impact on the amygdala, the brain's emotional processing center. The theoretical foundations proposed by Dr. Ronald Ruden (1, 2) regarding Havening's neurobiological effects are discussed, followed by the presentation of four case studies and respective outcomes that demonstrate the potential of Havening in perinatal mental health.
Keywords: Psycho-sensory, Havening, Perinatal mental health, Childbirth, Trauma
Received: 27 Apr 2025; Accepted: 13 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Crowther, Mellor and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Susan Crowther, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
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