Somatic Experiencing was developed by Peter Levine who observed that animals in the wild are often under threat, but seldom show signs of trauma. He realised that trauma in people occurs if the instinctive survival responses are prevented from completing. This can result in the person feeling as if they are under threat even years later, as their physiology is still in an ‘emergency’ state such as ‘fight and flight’ or ‘freeze’. The Somatic Experiencing approach releases this traumatic shock from the body and nervous system, which helps to lessen the symptoms of trauma and frees up the person’s natural energy and vitality.

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 responses are based.

Peter is the author of several groundbreaking books on trauma including ‘Waking the Tiger’ and ‘In an Unspoken Voice’.

“While studying the effects of accumulated stress on the nervous system, I began to suspect that most organisms have an innate capacity to rebound from threatening and stressful events.”
Peter Levine