Trauma therapy Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is one of the most effective trauma healing tools taught worldwide. It is an approach that allows the therapist to guide the client through challenging states and situations and offers a basic approach to understanding and managing the effects of shock and trauma. The bodily experiencing method works directly with the client’s autonomic nervous system, allowing the client to complete innate defensive responses and restore balance to the nervous system.

Created by Peter Levine, PhD, this therapy works on the principle that trauma gets trapped in the body, 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. One aspect of this dis regulation is known as the freeze response, to our body’s primitive defense against danger. This response would activate if someone were being chased by a tiger. Unlike the “fight or flight” response that takes place in response to an acute threat, which causes the sympathetic nervous system to increase heart rate, breathing, and focus, the “freeze” response can cause the opposite.

Conditions and situations where SE may be helpful:

Trauma and PTSD
Single-incident trauma (accidents, assaults, medical procedures)
Complex trauma and developmental trauma
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress such as hypervigilance, startle responses, intrusive memories, or emotional overwhelm
Anxiety and chronic stress
Generalized anxiety
Panic symptoms
Chronic tension and nervous system dysregulation
Burnout
Physical symptoms related to stress

Some people report improvement in:

Chronic muscle tension
Stress-related pain
Headaches
Digestive disturbances linked to stress
Sleep difficulties
Emotional regulation

SE may help people:

Recognize bodily signs of activation before becoming overwhelmed
Develop a greater sense of safety and grounding
Increase resilience when facing difficult emotions
Recovery from difficult life experiences

Examples include:

Grief and loss
Relationship ruptures
Workplace stress
Medical trauma
Natural disasters