Somatic Experiencing
The origin of Somatic Experiencing explained by founder Dr. Peter Levine
Somatic simply means ‘as related to the body’. When the body experiences life-threat or chronic physical, mental or emotional stress, it responds by entering ‘fight’, ‘flight’, or ‘freeze’. When an individual is able to protect themselves from threat with one of these responses, the survival energy is discharged. If this survival energy is not discharged, it becomes stored in the body, leading to nervous system dysregulation that manifests as emotional conditions such as depression, anxiety, or chronic pain and other physical manifestations of stress.
Somatic Experiencing® is a body-centered method of therapy that focuses on healing the root causes of trauma and other stress disorders to restore the body to its natural state of wellness.
Learn what you can expect in a session by reading more below or book a consultation or appointment today. See our rates.
What you can expect
A Somatic Experiencing session works with your awareness of your body to help it release traumatic shock, which can result from experiencing a wide variety of stressors such as accidents, invasive medical procedures, sexual or physical assault, emotional abuse, neglect, war, natural disasters, loss, birth trauma, or the corrosive stressors of ongoing fear and conflict. Somatic Experiencing can help the body to complete the cycle of self-protection and release the survival energy that is bound in the body. Your practitioner will use gentle verbal guidance to carefully support you in increasing your tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions, to move through thwarted protective responses, and ultimately heal the root of your trauma symptoms.
For more about what you can expect in general when working with us. Click here.
