Somatic Experiencing™
Somatic Experiencing was developed by Peter Levine over many years of clinical work, observation of nature, and research. Dr Levine has qualifications in psychology and medical biophysics, and the knowledge and insights that led him to develop this pioneering approach, come from many disciplines including biology, psychology, physiology and neuroscience.
Peter noticed that animals in the wild are often under threat, but seldom show signs of trauma in the way that humans do. He realised that trauma in people occurs if the instinctive ‘fight and flight’ responses are prevented and we go into the ‘freeze’ response, where the intense survival energy generated is put on ‘pause’.
Once the person is safe, the survival energy is sometimes released with trembling, heat or tingling and other sensations. It is thought that if this natural release does not occur, the person feels as if they are under threat even years later, as their physiology is still in an ‘emergency’ state.
The Somatic Experiencing approach gently releases this traumatic shock from the body and nervous system, which often reduces the symptoms of trauma and frees up the person’s natural energy and vitality.
Sometimes after trauma, people can be left in a stuck state of ‘fight’ response, which can make them seem combative and quick to anger. Alternatively a stuck state of ‘flight’ can arise, with restlessness and tendency to walk away from situations and relationships. Both are forms of active defence response, and again Somatic Experiencing can help to resolve the trauma underlying these presentations, helping the person feel more at ease in their life and less reactive.
The word ‘Somatic’ refers to the body, and we use ‘Experiencing‘ to mean that the resolution of trauma happens in the present time. Talking therapies such as counselling are a ‘top down’ approach, which uses the evolutionarily newest parts of the brain, while Somatic Experiencing is a ‘bottom up’ approach, with less talking and more attention to information stored in the lower sub-conscious parts of the brain where the emergency systems are based.
Peter Levine
Peter is the author of several groundbreaking books on trauma including ‘Waking the Tiger’ and ‘In an Unspoken Voice’.
Peter Levine’s website
somaticexperiencing.com
Somatic Experiencing International website
traumahealing.org
“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
Peter Levine
An informative interview with Peter Levine: Nature’s Lessons in Healing Trauma: An Introduction to Somatic Experiencing® (SE™).
Please note that while this video gives a helpful brief overview of Somatic Experiencing it does contain some images that may be triggering – for example images of actors as soldiers from an old black-and-white movie, images of animals in the wild, and brief descriptions of trauma.