"The bodies of traumatized people portray 'snapshots' of their unsuccessful attempts to defend themselves in the face of threat and injury. Trauma is a highly activated incomplete biological response to threat, frozen in time. For example, when we prepare to fight or flee, muscles throughout our entire body are tensed in specific patterns of high energy readiness. When we are unable to complete the appropriate actions, we fail to discharge the tremendous energy generated by our survival preparations. This energy becomes fixed in specific patterns of neuromuscular readiness. The person then stays in a state of acute and then chronic arousal and dysfunction in the central nervous system. Traumatized people are not suffering from a disease in the normal sense of the word - they have become stuck in an aroused state. It is difficult, if not impossible, to function normally under these circumstances. "

- Peter A. Levine (Founder of Somatic Experiencing)

What is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is an integrative form of healing that will help settle and release physiological activation from the body. Very often, this process helps people to reduce stress and return to a sense of regulation and mastery in their lives. SE will support you in learning how to attend to uncomfortable sensations in your body and gently unwind them through your conscious attention. SE is particularly useful in managing stress because so many symptoms you may experience in relation to stress are physiological.

The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. It offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states.

What is Somatic Experiencing used to treat?

​- Abuse and/or Violence
- Attachment Wounds
- Birth Traumas
- Developmental Ruptures
- Discrimination and Hate Crimes
- Inescapable Attacks
- Medical Traumas
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Natural Disasters
- Near Death Experiences
- Neglect
​- Sexual Assaults
- Syndromes, including some autoimmune conditions
- Transgenerational Trauma

Team Members Trained in Somatic Experiencing