I don’t know about you, but I’m not big on hands-on healing.

I acknowledge that a lot of people may find benefits, but to me it feels intrusive.Then again, sound therapy? That sounds like a concert.

Marlisa McLaughlin of Pawcatuck says people who undergo sound therapy experience a very deep sense of relaxation afterward. Somehow, she says, certain sounds such as bells and gongs help us connect to deep emotions from our past, often a disconcerting thing at first depending on the memories associated, but in the long term a way to let go of those feelings.

“You can see a brightness, a physical change in people’s faces when they leave,” McLaughlin said. “Being able to tolerate and feel into sound helps us navigate this very noisy world that we live in and it can help us maintain balance so that our biochemistry is not all over the place and we’re not reactive.”

She’s not alone in reporting the benefits of sound therapy. In a 2019 article in Psychology Today titled “The Healing Power of Sound as Meditation,” Marlynn Wei, a medical doctor, reported “Sound-based vibration treatment has been shown to help people with pain from arthritis, menstrual pain, postoperative pain, knee replacement pain. Sound-based treatment has even been found to improve mobility, reduce muscle pain and stiffness, increase blood circulation, and lower blood pressure.”

McLaughlin, a naturalized citizen of Iceland, showed me Thursday her home “recording studio” that doubles as a sound therapy room set aside exclusively for family and friends. Most of her sound work is done at events such as the recent Yogapalooza in Mystic, or at retirement homes or, in recent weeks, spas, which have suddenly started incorporating the therapy into their offerings.

McLaughlin (marlisaenergy.com) gave a quick 10-minute sample of a therapy session, having me lie on a table in the middle of a darkened room lit only by sound-activated LED holiday-style lights and a projector that gave the small space a magical glow of the Northern Lights. Surrounding the table were sound-making objects such as tuning forks, three gongs, a quartz crystal triangle, crystal bowls, a synthetic-skin drum, wind chimes, and what’s known as a rain stick, which produces a soft pattering effect.

She told me to close my eyes and alternated different sounds that were produced from different “instruments” in various parts of the room. It was very relaxing, and I probably would have drifted off if I hadn’t so many questions in my mind.

“”We don’t realize sometimes that we can be in an abrasive environment, and we tolerate it because we can block it out,“ McLaughlin said. ”But it’s wreaking havoc on the central nervous system. And that doesn’t show up until you see it in your blood pressure or you can’t sleep at night.“

McLaughlin said she tries to keep people awake during sessions, but sometimes they fall asleep, which is not a bad thing

“It’s a felt sense of listening that’s really important,” she said.

McLaughlin said sometimes people burst out in tears during a session, and sometimes they end up with a sense of coming home and belonging.

“People have flashbacks, people have awakenings to ... dreams and desires because they get a sense of release and freedom.”

McLaughlin said she has done a lot of work with grief groups, who find sound therapy to be healing. She compared sound therapy to taking vitamins in that it boosts one’s inner ability to heal.

“It gets the circulation going, it opens up so many things that are closed down and constructed because of stress, she said. ”You just listen, and the brain will go into a relaxed, elevated state.“

“When you’re open, your blood is flowing and life is flowing and you’re happy. But when you’re in the fear mode and you’re constricted, that’s when you have blocks in your bloodstream and your muscles.”

Sound therapy could sound odd or downright quackery to some, but McLaughlin insists there is science behind it. Still, she said it’s mostly people who have been exposed to other forms of natural healing, such as yoga, that take to it the most readily. Women are 10 to 1 more likely to try it than men, she added.

As a certified energy practitioner and vibration sound therapist, McLaughlin has been working in the healing arts for 30 years, but less than a year ago began seeing herself as an entrepreneur in the field along with a few others locally.

Group sessions tend to go on for an hour and a half, while private therapy is blocked an hour at a time. A group session can cost $30 to $45, while a private booking runs $130 for an hour.

“”Not every practitioner is right for every person,“ she added. ”Every sound practitioner is going to offer something different.“

McLaughlin has a public-access television show with naturopathic doctor Patrick Moore called “Health Buzz: Perspectives on Natural Health” that is produced at SEC-TV in Groton. Their April show dealt with the healing power of sound.

During the show, she noted that one pure tone can instantly set the brain into alpha state, which is the first stage of meditation. But the best thing about sound therapy is that it can be learned by regular people who are taught to tune in more effectively to their sound environment, McLaughlin told me, meaning that the benefits of therapy can be exacted in as little as one session.

“You don’t need to have all of these wonderful sounds to get the benefits of a deep listening practice. Just sit outside in the morning and have your coffee and listen,” she said.

Lee Howard is The Day’s business editor. Reach him at l.howard@theday.com.