Somatic Experiencing Information

Providing Somatic Experiencing treatment. “Somatic Experiencing” (SE) is a short-term, naturalistic approach, developed by Dr. Peter Levine, to renegotiate and heal both shock and developmental trauma. Stress and trauma occur in the body, not in the event, as they are the body’s reactions to “threatening experiences.” The fight/flight/freeze response, otherwise known as ‘instincts’, is how we are hard-wired for survival. The word “trauma,” unfortunately, overshadows the intricacies and insidiousness of the long-term affects of threat, whether said threat were real or perceived. The easy way to differentiate stress from trauma is that any event is considered traumatic when the symptoms of arousal (reaction) don’t pass, even after the threat has passed. Sometimes these unresolved physiological events can remain dormant in the body for years before getting triggered again. SE employs the awareness of body sensation to safely and gradually allow the autonomic nervous system to discharge previously truncated survival energy trapped in the body. The results of this body / mind therapy include relief from anxiety, habits and addictions, patterns and cycles of self-sabotage, and dissociative behaviors. It brings on a sense of reawakening and access to instincts which illicits feelings of groundedness, centeredness, boundaries, empowerment, being “in the moment”, safety and joyfulness.