Somatic Experiencing
What is Trauma?
Trauma can be understood as anything that has a lasting negative effect – conscious or unconscious – on a person’s mind, body, or spirit. It may begin as acute stress from a perceived life-threat or as the end-product of cumulative stress. Both types of stress can seriously impair a person’s ability to function with resilience and ease. Left unresolved, trauma can prevent a person from being able to respond appropriately to the world around them.
Trauma may result from a wide variety of stressors such as:
chronic stress
accidents
invasive medical or dental procedures
sexual or physical assault
emotional abuse, neglect
war
natural disasters
grief and loss
early childhood trauma
life transitions
ongoing fear and conflict
overwhelming events
Why Somatic Experiencing?
Trauma affects the brain, mind, and body, yet, research has shown that the human body has been neglected in traditional psychotherapy.
Dr. Peter A. Levine reports that it is not possible to heal effectively and efficiently from emotional, physical, and spiritual pain and suffering without involving the body. He teaches that trauma is not in the event itself; rather, in how undischarged fight, flight, or freeze threat responses are activated during the event and stored within the nervous system. Holding this unexpressed powerful energy is what creates a variety of symptoms associated with complex trauma and PTSD.
How does Somatic Experiencing Work?
Somatic Experiencing does not require the traumatized person to re-tell or re-live the traumatic event - it is not a form of exposure therapy. Instead, it gently offers the opportunity to engage, complete, and resolve – in a gradual, supported, and indirect way – the body’s instinctual fight, flight, or freeze responses. This resets the nervous system, enhances resilience to stress, and increases people’s vitality and capacity to actively engage in life. The Somatic Experiencing practitioner provides a safe, compassionate, and impartial environment to facilitate the release of trauma throughout the body.
This body-centered approach addresses the roots of trauma by integrating the mind and body.
Book your session online. Please contact me for more information.
Resources
Click the logos below to learn more about Somatic Experiencing.
Podcasts with Dr. Peter A. Levine
