Havening
For all of my adult life, I have been drawn to the simple but powerfully healing properties of touch. I would assert that most of us, in modern day Western culture, are touch deprived.
When I heard about Havening Techniques® I was intrigued. There was a whole lot more to the healing nature of touch than I had previously known (mostly through the giving and receiving of massages). Touch doesn’t just offer healing in the form of nervous system regulation, releasing tense muscles, oxytocin production and energetic exchange, it has the potential to permanently disconnect overwhelming emotions and distress when past traumas are triggered or recalled.
Upon learning about women who had experienced rapid relief from the anxiety and fears associated with their traumatic births after just one Havening session, I knew I needed to train to become a certified Havening practitioner. That was achieved over 2024-25. During that time I also trained in Holistic Relaxation Massage and Deep Tissue Massage, and began my massage business called Heart & Hands Massage Therapy.
What is Havening?
Havening is a gentle, touch-based therapeutic tool designed to help your mind and body feel safe again after a distressing experience. It uses comforting touch on the arms, hands, or face, combined with simple, guided steps to create a sense of safety and calm. This helps the brain 'de-link' overwhelming emotions from past events, so you can remember what happened without feeling the same level of, or perhaps any, distress. For those recovering from a traumatic birth, Havening offers a calm, supportive space to ease lingering anxiety, sadness or fear. Many people notice they feel significantly lighter, more grounded, and more at peace, often only after just one session.
For official information regarding Havening and to find other certified practitioners, click here.
How does Havening work?
Havening works by gently changing the way your brain stores and reacts to distressing memories. When something traumatic happens, like a troubling birth, the brain can 'lock' the experience together with strong emotional reactions such as fear, shame, or helplessness. That's why even years later, a reminder of the event can trigger those same feelings in an instant.
During Havening the gentle, repetitive touch sends calming signals through your nervous system. This helps your brain produce soothing brainwaves and chemicals that tell your body you're safe now. In this relaxed state, your brain can reprocess the memory, keeping the facts of what happened, but removing the overwhelming emotional charge.
In short, Havening helps your brain update the memory from traumatic and unsafe to something in the past that no longer controls how you feel in the present.
What does a Havening session entail?
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Sessions are around 1 hour long and can be done in-person or via Zoom.
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We will talk about what you're wanting to achieve from the session and discuss what's achievable.
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Once we have practiced the various touches and checked there are no further questions, I will need you to briefly 'activate' yourself, meaning you will need to recall the traumatic event (either in your head, or out loud) to momentarily stimulate the distress response.
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I'll ask you to gauge your level of distress on a scale from 0-10, and we'll commence Havening touch (something you can do to yourself, or have me facilitate for you)*
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For the next few minutes I will ask you some weird and whacky questions (called 'distractions') which will completely take your mind off the trauma, enabling the calming Havening touch to work its therapeutic magic.
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I will ask you to recheck how you feel when you recall the traumatic event in your mind, and give me your new 1 - 10 level of distress. On numerous occasions people I have worked with have gone from 10 to 0 after just one round of distractions, but sometimes it takes one or two more rounds to substantially lower the level of activation.
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We usually end the session with one or two other types of Havening (what I've described above is called Event Havening), all aimed at helping you to feel more calm and empowered when memories of your birth come to mind, or when you are thinking about what a future birth could be like for you.
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We talk about how you can utilise self-Havening outside of the session, and what follow-up support might be required for you.
*Havening touch can be self applied or facilitated (done by me in an in-person session). If we work together via Zoom you will need to do the Havening touch yourself, and I, too, will be doing it across the screen from you.
Investment & Booking
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Book a 1 hour Havening session for $85
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Add a 1 hour Havening session to an Unravelling Your Trauma booking, a Planning Your Healing Birth booking, or an Unravelling & Planning Combo booking, and pay just $75 extra
If you're not sure whether Havening is right for you, or whether you should book a Havening session by itself, or alongside another Healing Birth service, please click the Contact Carla button below.
If you're ready to make a booking and don't live in Tauranga, or you would prefer your session is via Zoom, go ahead and make your booking by clicking the Book Online Session button below.
If you'd like to book an in-person Havening session, please click the Book In-Person button below.
What Others Have to Say...
"When I first booked a Havening session with Carla, I didn’t expect it to touch me as deeply as it did. I’ve done a lot of healing work over the years, so I thought I knew what to expect. But what I experienced was unlike anything before.
From the moment I arrived, Carla’s warmth and calm presence made me feel safe — the kind of safe where your body naturally exhales and your heart softens. She has a rare gift for holding space in a way that feels both deeply professional and beautifully human.
As the gentle Havening touch began, it was as if an internal nurturing was taking place inside my brain and body, soothing parts of me I didn’t even know were still hurting. Memories and people that once triggered deep grief and upset now bring a sense of love, gratitude, and hope. The heaviness has lifted.
It’s hard to put into words the freedom I now feel. All I can say is that this work is gentle enough for children, yet powerful enough to shift years of pain. If you’re ready to feel safe, seen, and deeply healed, Carla is the one I’d trust to guide you there."
Naomi
“I hadn't heard of Havening before meeting with Carla, but her compassionate explanation made it easy to understand. I’ve now had two sessions with her because I was struggling with birth trauma and PTSD, and it’s such a relief to no longer think about it every day or experience such intense anxiety.”
Shannen