What is Somatic Experiencing®?
SE™ is a body-oriented therapeutic model that places more focus on the effects trauma may have on the body, rather than the retelling of the trauma story.The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is the key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. If offers a framework to access where a person is "stuck" in the flight, flight or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states.
The Science
Trauma may begin as acute stress from a perceived life-threat or as the end product of cumulative stress. Both types of stress can seriously impair a person's ability to function with resilience and ease. Trauma may result from a 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.How It Works
The Somatic Experiencing approach facilitates the completion of self-protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, thus addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms. This is approached by gently guiding clients to develop increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensation and suppressed emotions.