“Traumatic symptoms are not caused by the event itself, they arise when residual energy from the experience is not discharged from the body”
Peter Levine
Somatic Experiencing® offers a new and hopeful perspective on trauma, it views the human animal as having an innate capacity to heal through learning how to notice and follow sensations in the body through to the point of completion, where the body gets to do what it needs to do to feel safe again.
During life, many people experience difficulty and challenge to one’s ability to respond to stress. As helpful as talking can be, it does not attend to the story that is happening in our body’s physiology. Our autonomic nervous system is complex and, in a culture that so often denies our body reality, it can be difficult to get the right help.
This approach supports the integration of sensation, our bodily experience, and meaning. What often gets lost as a result of trauma is our aliveness. Somatic Experiencing® is a highly effective way of working to bring that back.
Over time, we come to feel our own sensations and emotions more fully. We begin to become aware of how our whole body reacts to the stresses of everyday situations, and how those reactions may lead to impairments in health and wellbeing. We learn how to hold ourselves in times of challenge and apply tools of care and kindness.
Our symptoms might look like depression, anxiety and addiction. The feelings of numbness, sadness or rage can be with us under the surface as we go about our lives. Eventually we can learn how to relax and stay in the present moment, being fully aware of all our feelings and sensations as information that helps us make healthy choices about what is good for us in our lives and what is harmful.
I integrate this work with Psychotherapy and arts-based body-centred approaches that encourage deeper connection to the body, one’s own aliveness and imagination as we move towards health.
