Somatic Experiencing®
Somatic Experiencing®
Body-oriented trauma therapy according to Dr. Peter A. Levine
After an overwhelming traumatic experience, we often lose contact with ourselves. We essentially disconnect from our body and remain in a state of freeze or shock, which prevents us from fully experiencing life. Often, the consequences of such an experience only surface years later, manifesting through sudden, usually unexplained symptoms.
In Somatic Experiencing® / SE™ sessions, the focus is primarily on bringing our nervous system back into balance, inner stability, and safety.
Challenges where Somatic Experiencing® can help
- Accidents
- Medical surgeries (complaints after surgery, as well as preparation for surgery)
- Physical and psychological violence/assaults
- Neglect
- Grief, loss of a loved one
- Birth trauma (own birth/childbirth)
- Chronic hiccups
- Serious illness
- Receiving a diagnosis of a serious illness
- Job termination/unemployment
- Imprisonment
- Prolonged legal disputes
- Natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis
- War and other experiences that have deeply disturbed and overwhelmed us, causing emotional burdens
Contact me
Schedule a free, no-obligation 20-minute introductory phone call now.
Dr. Peter A. Levine
«The trauma is not in a specific event, but in the nervous system of the affected person.»
An important area is the coping with accidents (traffic accidents with cars, motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards, falls at home, hiking accidents, sports injuries, tripping accidents, etc.). Although the physical impairments may have healed, such an experience can still affect our behavior in some way, sometimes even very strongly. Sometimes people say that “nothing” happened except for a shock, and they feel that everything is fine. But it’s exactly this shock moment that matters.
The shock often sits deep in the bones (marrow and limb), and we experience impairments that we can’t explain. Some people find that, for example, after a traffic accident/impact, they’ve become jumpy as a passenger. Others have problems with tunnels or tight spaces, while some tense up when they notice another vehicle next to them.
Such reactions can suddenly appear even long after an accident. Similarly, unexplained and persistent pain is not uncommon. Whiplash injuries are also frequent. Moreover, not only accidents and events one has personally experienced, but also those witnessed as an observer, can have traumatic effects and be better processed with Somatic Experiencing®/ SE™.
It’s also important for me to mention that not every traumatic event causes lasting effects and unwanted symptoms. It may happen that two people experience the same thing, and one can go on with their life as usual, while the other stays trapped in shock and develops symptoms that restrict their life. So, it’s not primarily about the event itself, but about what it did to us. The event primarily serves as an entry point into the process.