Somatic Experiencing

“I have come to the conclusion that human
beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over
trauma... In so doing, we will significantly increase
our ability to achieve our dreams.”
-Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing

Somatic experiencing... Healing Trauma, NATURALLY!

Somatic Experiencing (SE), a body centered trauma healing modality created by Dr. Peter Levine, which is intended to resolve trauma on the deepest level in the nervous system. In developing SE, Levine observed that prey animals, who are commonly threatened in the wild, tend to experience full fight, flight or freeze responses when threatened, and recover quickly from traumatic, stressful, or survival based events. However, humans often override these adaptive and natural nervous system regulating responses, which can keep us stuck in states of maladaptive fight, flight or freeze states, stress and threat response.

Trauma can be easily described as what happens to a person/nervous system when there is too much too soon, too much for too long or not enough for too long. Or, trauma can result from any sudden experience like an accident, attack, or other unexpected occurrences that have psychological, emotional or physical impact.

Research shows that unresolved traumas play a significant role in many common mental and physical illnesses, including anxiety, depression, chronic pain, irrational fears or constantly feeling "on guard,"PTSD, etc. Somatic Experiencing restores the nervous system to optimal heath and function through cultivating awareness of and freedom from repetitive stress patterns and traumatic shock signals... allowing us to be fully present and available for life.

UNDERSTANDING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (IN BRIEF)

Connected to the limbic system (LS) in the brain, which perceives threat responses, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), is comprised of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). When the LS perceives threat and is triggered into action, the SNS typically comes on line and mobilizes us into fighting or flighting, both of which are adaptive self protection mechanisms. When the threat is too great for even the SNS to mobilize, the PSNS will come online and take us into a freeze response. Although designed to be self-regulating, the ANS can become disregulated, particularly when one is not able to have a fully expressed trauma response. Often, as a result, the body may continue to respond as if it is still under threat. Somatic experiencing theory holds that maladaptive symptoms of trauma—such as anxiety, depression, aggression, shame, hypervigilance, etc., result from the body's inability (or missed opportunity) to have a completed trauma response.