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What Is CalmConnect?


 An Introduction to CalmConnect
In this excerpt from a pediatric mental health seminar, Roberta Scherf (one of the creators of CalmConnect) provides a brief look at the program.


CalmConnect in Classrooms, Clinics, and at Home

CalmConnect Sample Sequence

CalmConnect is not like anything else.

CalmConnect delivers many of the same benefits of meditation, mindfulness, and movement practices, while providing something other programs do not. CalmConnect fosters cooperation and collaboration within and between groups, helping create community and build relationships.

The human brain is designed to thrive within a network of caring relationships. Without human connection, physical and emotional health, self-regulation, and cognitive abilities all decline.

In 2023, the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation portrayed loneliness as an epidemic as deadly as tobacco use and obesity (equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, increasing the risk of premature death by 26%). Loneliness also increases a person’s risk of heart disease by 29% and the risk of stroke by 32% (American Heart Association, 2022). CalmConnect has been shown to mitigate the loneliness caused by social isolation.

Feelings of sadness, shame, and invisibility are all symptoms of the social isolation and loneliness that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and magnified by the proliferation of social media that promises connection but delivers none.

One of the most important determinants of mental health is the ability to feel safe with other people and have healthy relationships. That need for connection is hardwired into our bodies and our cells as safe connections are essential for a meaningful life (Fredrickson, 2013).

CalmConnect provides the building blocks for social relationships that are so critical for good mental health.

CalmConnect is an easy-to-use program that has proven successful for thousands of people of all ages and abilities in addressing anxiety, depression, and trauma, whether struggling with self-regulation because of autism, PTSD, illness, dementia, or other challenges.

Our scientifically based, patented, social engagement program calms the nervous system, shifting users from ‘fight or flight’ to a more regulated state as it builds social connectedness.

The program, comprising a series of short (3 – 5 minute) video sequences, combines rhythmic music with comforting vocal frequencies and visual patterns, which are synchronized with the ‘social muscles’ (expressive features) of the faces and the movement of others.

This integrated, multisensory practice simultaneously engages the user physically, cognitively, and emotionally. It supports a number of physiological and neurological functions in order to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and build neural pathways to strengthen social connectivity and mental health.

CalmConnect makes it easier for individuals and families to engage with others in the world – at school, at work, at home, in therapeutic and care settings.

Benefits include the following:

  • Quickly calms the body and mind
  • Easier transition times between activities
  • Reduces agitation, anxiety, and depression
  • Eliminates or minimizes meltdowns
  • Easier bedtimes and faster sleep
  • Increases collaborative behavior
  • Mitigates loneliness caused by social isolation
  • Fosters connection within and between groups

CalmConnect is the only program to synthesize research from the polyvagal theory of emotion and attachment, the social pain overlap theory, mirror neurons, and audiovisual synchrony.

CalmConnect helps people of all ages and abilities calm their nervous system, regulate their behavior, and connect with others.

It’s how we move from me to we.