Somatic Experiencing

Somatic experiencing therapy is an approach that is geared towards helping people find healing from a variety of traumas that occur throughout one's life. It resolves trauma by addressing suppressed arousal states ( such as fight, flight or freeze in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system), rather than only discussing events through talk therapy.

Created by Peter Levine, PhD, this therapy works on the principle that trauma gets trapped in the body(soma), leading to some of the symptoms people with PTSD or people who have experienced trauma might experience. Through this method, practitioners work on releasing this stress from the body. It can be done without any touch at all, seated or lying down on a massage table. If touch is offered, it is supportive in nature, with gentle hand placements throughout areas of the body that are safe for the individual.

Many people who have experienced trauma, whether it is physical, mental or emotional can benefit from this approach. For example, post medical surgeries, such as the trauma that a woman may experience after breast cancer surgery, or dealing with grief or loss from that experience, or from the death of a loved one. There are also many other stressors that are experienced in life, such as escaping from domestic violence or sexual assault, divorcing from at loved one, and many experiences of anxiety, stress and depression that can cause someone to dissociate or disconnect from their bodies. Somatic experiencing helps people to increase awareness of their internal experience (interoceptive, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic sensations). And, it provides a framework for people to move beyond their symptoms, to be more present with their body.