All waves want to complete. SE guides symptoms to “crest”, complete and resolve.
What is Trauma?
The clinical definition of trauma tends to focus on the event itself and the psychoemotional toll. SE can be more inclusive and define trauma as a physiological response to an overwhelming event where the body’s natural protective mechanisms (FIGHT-FLIGHT-FREEZE-FAWN) are interrupted; this leaves the body in a state of perceived danger, leading to chronic symptoms.
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic experiencing (SE) is a trauma-informed, body-oriented therapy that guides you to process and resolve symptoms of stress, shock & trauma that accumulate in the nervous system by focusing on sensations. Developed by Peter Levine, PhD, SE guides individuals to work with their physical responses to stressful events, transforming patterns of fight-flight-freeze-fawn into a state of regulation, vitality, and social engagement. It aims to restore the body’s natural ability to heal, leading to increased resilience, calm, and wholeness.
How it Works & What to Expect
SE 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. A SE therapist will guide clients to sustain difficult sensations and emotions, working to complete defensive responses.
We have a strong tendency to prioritize thinking over our other experiences. Even when we recognize an emotion, we can jump right into why we feel that way, what we should do next, judge ourselves towards having a feeling… thinking city. Which brings us very quickly away from the emotion and…associated sensation. My job is to check in with what else is present - because when we have more information, we have the chance to bring resolution.
Early in the process, we must establish and experience enough safety in the system to be with what’s hard. In traditional talk therapy, people can feel pressured to just get it out and “do the work” but this is like driving through all the yellow and red lights. Yes, your problems may be inconvenient or debilitating but sometimes we need to go slow to get anywhere.
In the beginning, SE sessions will focus on body awareness and orienting to your therapist, a new space, and get to know what it’s like to slow down (mixed reactions, for sure). Depending on your nervous system, it may take a number of sessions to get to certain topics - this is therapeutic in itself.
Would you like to learn more about this approach? I’d be happy to share more information during a 15 min phone call (click to schedule).