Somatic Experiencing (SE)
“The body has been designed to renew itself through continuous self-correction. These same principles also apply to the healing of psyche, spirit, and soul.”
— Peter A Levine, PhD
What is Somatic Experiencing (SE) trauma resolution?
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a widely respected, innovative, body centered therapy approach to deal with stress, anxiety and trauma resolution through working primarily with the nervous system and not the “story”.
Somatic Experiencing was developed by Peter Levine, PhD. SE draws upon over 35 years of research and study into stress, trauma and namely how our autonomic nervous system mobilizes to respond to threat.The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma.
SE is modeled off of animal behavior in the wild where they engage in innate, instinctive, physiological processes to discharge the massive fight, flight and freeze energies associated with survival. As a result wild animals are rarely traumatized, even though their lives are routinely threatened.
Although humans have virtually the same innate self-regulating mechanisms as animals, we often override or inhibit these processes thwarting our own capacity to heal.
When we fail to discharge the high levels of arousal associated with survival these massive energies stay trapped in our neuromuscular and central nervous system and wreak havoc on our bodies and our minds. It is this trapped energy that develops into a whole constellation of post-traumatic symptoms including pain, anxiety, anger, depression, addictions / out-of-control behaviors, insecure attachment styles in relationships, intrusive thoughts and imagery as well as cognitive impairments and more.
Somatic Experiencing provides the steps needed to reconnect an individual with the innate wisdom of their bodies. Through focused conscious awareness of bodily sensations the individual is able to access these restorative physiological patterns, resolve their traumatic symptoms, and reengage in life with renewed optimism, creativity, passion and joy.
How does SE work?
SE is a biophysiological approach to healing trauma. Peter Levine has said that trauma does not rest in the event but in the individual’s nervous system. By paying attention to the client’s nervous system, the trained therapist supports the client in their experience of a more ‘coherent’ and ‘resilient’ nervous system. The SE approach facilitates the completion of self-protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, thus addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms. This is approached by gently guiding clients to develop increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions.
What kinds of trauma can SE treat?
SE Practitioners can successfully work with developmental traumas (such as childhood neglect and physical or sexual abuse), illness, birth trauma ongoing medical and/or physical issues, shock traumas (such as motor vehicle accidents, assaults, natural disasters, operations, and falls) loss, or the corrosive stressors of perceived threat, ongoing fear and conflict.
What is a typical session like?
The SE trauma resolution method supports people to resolve the impact of the trauma without the person having to re-tell or re-live the traumatic event. Instead, it offers the opportunity to engage, complete, and resolve—in a slow and supported way—the body’s instinctual fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses.
While trauma tends to overwhelm us, in SE, by noticing small shifts in physical sensations, this invites healing. Individuals learn to feel safe, even curious, as their nervous system releases energy and completes survival responses.
This resets the nervous system, restores inner balance, enhances resilience to stress, and increases people’s vitality, equanimity, and capacity to actively engage in life. The SE Practitioner offers an environment of impartial and compassionate support to facilitate the release of trauma throughout your body.
How long does SE take?
The length of time and number of sessions in which a client will visit a practitioner will depend on several factors, including the severity and duration of the trauma(s) and the degree to which the trauma has affected the individual’s nervous system. A conversation with the practitioner in the initial session may be helpful in providing this kind of information.
What should I know about my SE Practitioner’s training?
Those practitioners who are designated as Somatic Experiencing Practitioners (SEPs) have completed a program in which they have accumulated 216 hours of training, as well as professional consultations and personal SE sessions. This training is intended to work with their other professional and academic training. It is expected that an SE Practitioner (i.e psychiatrist, medical doctor, psychologist, counselor, social worker, body-oriented therapist, and bodyworkers) will hold membership in a professional therapeutic body which has professional standards and a code of ethics and that the practitioner has professional liability insurance.
