Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy is a holistic approach to resolving trauma and reducing anxiety. Developed from the work of Dr. Peter Levine and Dr. Stephen Porges, Somatic Experiencing is a body-awareness therapy that has proven successful to help us calm an anxious dysregulated, nervous system, embrace a felt sense of stabilization and safety, and release thwarted energy.

A core piece of SE therapy comes through the discovery that the haunting effects of trauma are carried implicitly in the body and lower brain. Trauma can leave invisible wounds in our nervous system, and we might not even know it. The sounds of roaring engines might put you on edge, or a tightness in your gut, maybe even feeling emotions (you are not used to feeling) can draw up a felt sense of danger. Sometimes, trauma-memories show through being stuck in states of anxiety, anger or apathy. 

In light of recent experiences around the COVID-19 Pandemic, even experiencing a mild cough can make some wonder if they might be knocking on death’s door. 

Some trauma may have happened years ago, but decades later it can still haunt us. The lower part of our brain, that detects danger and safety, may still not know it is over. Implicit fear of the trauma happening again lingers in our nervous system and continues to interfere with our capacity to sense safety. Somatic Experiencing (SE) recognizes that we can remain stuck in a state of flight/fight, freeze or fold, the only narratives our nervous system allows us to experience is one of escape, aggression, collapse, or isolation.

SE therapy aims at healing trauma starting from the “bottom up.” Rather than trying harder to think different thoughts or talk your way out of it through a “top-down” approach, “bottom up” processing will invite you to slow down, pay careful attention to what is happening your body, help your nervous system get unstuck, regulate and find parallel reparative experiences to discharge energy it no longer needs. In therapy, we might help you process by exploring questions like:

• What are you noticing in your body?
• What do you notice right now that tells you you are safe? Stable? Okay?
• What do you notice coming up for you physically as you’re experiencing that feeling or thought? 
• Are any new possibilities or insights occurring to you as you sense newer levels of safety or calm?

While sharing the content of our stories can be helpful, SE therapy does not require us to re-tell or re-live a trauma narrative in detail. For some, to re-visit too much detail can be re-traumatizing. Instead, SE offers the opportunity to engage and resolve our body’s natural fight, flight, freeze, and fold responses—in a slow and supported way that keeps the past trauma experience from taking over. Combined with Attachment Therapy, SE also sets the conditions for our natural instincts for attachment to safely land in connection with others. 

Call or email today if you want to chat more or make an appointment.