somatic therapy
"Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness" - Dr. Peter Levine, Founder of Somatic Experiencing®️
What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing®️ (SE) is a body based therapeutic modality utilized to support clients in reconnecting with their body, build inner resources & strengths, and practice the embodiment of emotions. The goal of SE is to build capacity for distress tolerance, so we are better able to navigate life stressors, heal from painful life events, and improve overall well-being.
SE helps clients of all ages build regulation tools and coping skills, process feelings and/or body sensations that are stuck, and help clients feel better equipped to handle future stressors.
Dr. Peter Levine created SE after years of studying the stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics. SE combines all of these aspects to build distress tolerance and develop a more coherent and resilient nervous system.
How does it work?
When humans experience trauma or painful life experiences, the nervous system responds in ways that is crucial for survival. It is helpful for human bodies to do this at the time in order to survive the painful or traumatic event, but it can leave distressing impacts on the body and day to day life.
SE does not require you to re-tell or re-live traumatic or stressful events. Instead, it offers the opportunity to engage, complete, and resolve (in a slow and supported way) the body’s instinctual fight, flight, and freeze responses. During sessions, this looks like focused attention on the here and now with an emphasis on tracking the body’s physiological responses.
The therapist supports you in building a more coherent and resilient nervous system experience with an aim of increasing the capacity for distress and the ability to embody emotions more comfortably. SE is more than just "where do you notice that in your body"- the goal is to resolve what is stuck so it is no longer causing symptoms or impacting daily life.
What does Somatic Experiencing treat?
SE is useful for clients of all ages with a variety of presenting physical and emotional concerns, such as:
Anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and other mental health diagnoses
Birth and fetal distress/trauma
Car accidents
Chronic stress & traumatic stress
Chronic pain and chronic illness
Developmental and attachment trauma
Emotional abuse and neglect
Experiences of drowning, suffocation, and choking
Falls (whether off the curb, snowboarding/skiing, a ladder, etc.)
General overwhelm with life stressors
Medical procedures, surgery, and anesthesia
Natural disasters
Sexual or physical assault
To become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, a practitioner must complete the 3 year training program consisting of 216 hours of training, multiple hours of consultation, and multiple hours of the provider's own SE sessions for personal development.
You can read more about Somatic Experiencing here: