What is Somatic Experiencing trauma resolution?

Somatic Experiencing is a therapeutic method that has been developed by Dr. Peter Levine, through his multidisciplinary study of physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, along with 45 years of successful clinical application. Peter Levine observed that animals in the wild do not suffer from the long-term symptoms of traumatic stress in the forms of isolation, hyper vigilance, or the constant recurring pressure and anguish from past events. He highlights that animals, experiencing trauma on a daily basis in the wild would lose their biological edge if they stayed stuck or frozen in traumatic memory. Through the constant engagement and embodiment of sensations along with movements that reset the nervous system, wild animals are able to release the complex and big energy of fight, flight, or freeze responses. For humans trauma exists as an event that overwhelms the capacity of our nervous system. This overwhelm creates feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness in relation to not being able or having the capacity to act in these survival situations.

Through Peter Levine’s work he has developed a technique that helps people to access the wisdom of their bodies in order to release the huge energetic responses in relation to trauma. Somatic Experiencing offers a gradual, gentle, and restorative approach that allows for mild stimulation of the autonomic nervous system while maintaining a sense of safety. This helps to build resiliency to our bodies sensations and helps to release the untouched, unspoken, unresolved, and uncompleted material from challenging life events.

Will It Really Work For You?

SE is taught in every continent on the globe to professionals such as psychologists, neuroscientists, nurses, body workers, yoga teachers, medical doctors, ministers, and etc. It is taught to those who are looking for a greater understanding of trauma and how to heal through the perspective of the nervous system. While there are no guarantees for any therapeutic approach, SE is successful in treating people who have experienced acute trauma such as car accidents, high impact falls, witnessing other individual’s trauma, situations where we were trapped, loss of loved ones, medical procedures, and physical assaults in the form of abuse or rape. SE treats more complex trauma such as emotional abuse, physical or sexual abuse, early childhood abandonment or neglect. The renegotiation of trauma through SE can affectively treat symptoms such as hyper vigilance, emotional outbursts, insomnia, depression, emotional withdraw, frequent recurring memories, frequent startle reactions, and numbness. Clients frequently report feeling more open, more emotionally available, more willing to be engaged in life, greater states of balance and relaxation, reduction in episodes of anxiety, greater capacity to connect and regulate emotions, and more capable of tackling life obstacles.

What to Expect From The Practitioner?

As a practitioner, I will be there as a gentle and supportive presence to guide your process. The Practitioner is there to guide you toward tracking the responses of the central nervous system in the form of the client’s physical felt experience. The practitioner helps to take the client through the chain reactions of arousal of the body cycles in the form of fighting or fleeing in relation to traumatic events. Body tracking helps us to slowly move through and reprocess the memories or stories of these events without overwhelming the nervous system or going numb. Sensations serve as a guide as I help you feel grounded and oriented toward safety in the present moment throughout the session.

Initially, we work on getting more used to resourcing our body sensations for experiences of safety, warmth, and openness. This is supported in session through techniques such as grounding, holding, and orientation to our environment in order to establish capacity and strength within the experience of your physical body. As you as the client have more capacity to resource your physical experience and your environment, we then address the sensations that arise around traumatic events. As the practitioner, I will help to slow down the session in order to give you time to feel through the experience, point your attention toward movements that help to fulfill the patterns of fight or flight, track the physical releases of the autonomic nervous system, feel through the emotions that need support and validation, vocalize what may have been stifled in the midst of trauma, and to help you to resource your body for strength and resiliency. This way you reset the nervous system in a safe and supportive way while feeling more embodied and empowered through your healing process.