Somatic Experiencing

Many therapists claim they practice “somatic therapy” but are not trained in Somatic Experiencing. Somatic Experiencing (SE) is multi-disciplinary body-oriented modality developed by Peter Levine, Ph.D that helps heal trauma and other symptoms or disorders that may be rooted in trauma physiology.

SE is a framework for understanding how you might be “stuck” in your fight/flight/freeze nervous system responses and how that might be showing up and impacting your mental health and overall sense of wellbeing.

SE is based off the concept that stressful experiences and even daily stressors trigger nervous system response cycles that need to be completed. When an animal in the wild escapes being eaten by a tiger, you’ll see that it will shake. This shaking is thought to discharge the stress and complete the stress response cycle. In our modern world, we do not discharge our stress or complete our stress response cycles nearly as much as we need to- resulting in mental health symptoms, somatic pain & discomfort, and even illness.

SE helps us to build up positive resources for increasing our nervous system capacity so that we can live our lives from a more regulated place. SE helps us to find the places we are “stuck” in our flight/flight/freeze/fawn/appease responses, and allow for those stress cycles to complete. Finally, SE helps us orient to the safety available in each present moment so that we can live fuller, more engaged lives, with out “checking out” or “freaking out.”

What you can expect:

SE really slows things down. We will focus much more on what’s happening in the here and now, with special curiosity to the sensations, images, body movements, etc. that come up as we explore what you’re talking about. We’ll really pause to notice how your nervous system is responding and to create space for activation to discharge.

If you are interested in getting started, you can contact me directly to chat more.