5 Key Insights into Somatic Experiencing Therapy: Healing Trauma Effectively
The nervous system and the word “somatic” are all of the rage these days. Therefore, it is not surprise that when it comes to somatic therapy and the actual psychotherapeutic approach there is a lot of confusion. As a Licensed Therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, let’s chat about it.
1. What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing (or SE) uses the body (soma) to track sensations in order to resolve trauma. It was created by Dr. Peter Levine in the 1970’s after suffering from his own traumatic events. By observing animals, he found that they had their own wise way of resolving their trauma experiences; not getting stuck in trauma patterns the way that humans tend to.
Somatic Experiencing is based on the principal that trauma and emotions are not just stored in the mind but also the body, which is why people find that they have intense physical reactions to things which might not always make sense to them. Therefore, it makes sense that in order to heal, a body-based approach is essential.
Unlike traditional talk therapy that uses a “top-down” approach, somatic therapy uses a “bottom-up” approach to trauma therapy. This means that instead of staying in the head (with cognition), we look at what is happening below the surface, in the body. Instead of using coping skills in order to reduce stress, Somatic Experiencing starts with the physiology in order to find they unique way that each nervous system wants to close its trauma loop, aiding in trauma healing. We use the body as a guide to help ease the emotional pain.
2. How does Somatic Therapy Work?
This trauma therapy approach tracks what is happening in the autonomic nervous system during the session in order to help clients process traumatic events and heal from trauma. (Please keep in mind that we are using the word trauma in a generous way here.)
The autonomic nervous system is comprised of two parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. It helps to remember it like this: the sympathetic is “sympathetic” to your surroundings and helps send you into fight or flight if need be. It is responsible for taking in information and responding according to threat level. The parasympathetic is the “breaks” of the nervous system. It helps bring us down into regulation, or the ventral vagal state. Our systems naturally love to be in the ventral vagal state. This is the state that most people are in when they describe feeling “regulated.” We are able to connect when we are in this state.
Somatic Experiencing helps clients to pendulate back and forth between healing and trauma, building capacity for tolerating difficult sensations and emotions in the body and mind. As a Kansas City-based trauma therapist, my role is to guide you (and your nervous system) between both healing and trauma utilizing what is naturally happening in their system during the session. By paying attention to the different sensations happening in the body, we are able to gain insight into emotions and past traumas.
The ultimate goal of SE work is to fully discharge the energy associated with the trauma. It is intended to help close the loop; complete the stress cycle. This is what Dr. Peter Levine observed with animals – instead of getting stuck in a sympathetic response, they are able to do things that end the stress cycle, such as run, fight, hide, and so on. That is what our nervous systems crave; to be able to actively do something about what happened to us.
3. Somatic Experiencing and Trauma
Trauma is the suffering as a result of experiencing something that is so disturbing or life threatening that it gets coded into our systems in a way that alters our emotional states, physiological responses, or belief systems. It often occurs when something is too much too soon, or not enough (think developmental trauma here). Trauma almost always involves a lack of choice. This is where therapy comes in.
Somatic Experiencing is a trauma therapy approach that treats trauma by following the client’s sympathetic response to remembered events and helping that person’s nervous system complete that response, allowing their parasympathetic nervous system to come online. By doing this, we reduce the symptomology and intensity of distress when remembering events.
Safety is of the utmost importance when practicing Somatic Experiencing. It is the priority which is why we spend so much time in session helping to make sure each client is fully resourced (can feel the good, has access to positive emotional and physiological experiences) before dipping into trauma. Somatic Experiencing helps each client to create an internal “lifeline;” a way to get out of distressing feelings if need be. That is why the practitioner also takes time to get to know the client so that they can help to facilitate this process.
4. Top Benefits of Somatic Experiencing for Trauma Healing
Clients with PTSD are able to get out of chronic states of hyperarousal and reduce triggers associated with their original experiences. Clients with PTSD report fewer flashbacks and an overall increase in their sense of safety in the present.
Those with depression and anxiety not only have an increased sense of regulation but an understanding of how to care for themselves in a more personalized way. Why? Because of this bottom-up approach which pays close attention to their individualized needs, instead of the therapist coming up with coping skills for them. Further, those with chronic stress in the body are able to find relief because we are paying attention to the body, finding the root cause.
A lot of people’s original treatment goals in therapy is to feel more “regulated” or “present” in their lives. Going back to the science behind Somatic Experiencing, this is because we are able to more easily engage the parasympathetic nervous system, which gives us access to being connected and engaged in the present. Somatic Experiencing helps people increase their overall sense of well-being, can help to regulate sleep and energy levels, and at the very least fosters a deep level of insight into the inner emotional and physiological experience.
5. What to Expect During Somatic Therapy Sessions
The first session you meet with your Somatic Experiencing Therapist, there will be a lot of “getting to know you’s.” During this time, a better understanding of the distressing event and the distressing symptoms will be gathered. The therapist will get insight into your particular symptoms and start to get a feel for how your nervous system reacts to some level of activation during the session.
The subsequent sessions will look a bit different, in that there will be deeper SE work happening. The therapist will help guide the client through different ways to gain access to bodily awareness and sensations, as well as facilitate some of the pendulation between the healing and trauma spaces.
Somatic Experiencing is meant to be non-invasive and handles each client’s trauma content with the utmost respect and sensitivity. It is not about “forcing” and “pushing through,” but rather respecting how much each person can tolerate in that moment. It should feel gentle and supportive the entire time.
One common misconception about how Somatic Experiencing looks or feels is that you should come away from each meeting having had a huge mental or physical release each time. We can see this on some of those Instagram or Facebook ads for “somatic exercises” in which people are screaming, shaking, and so on. This is not the goal of this type of intervention at all. Oppositely, it has been found that a gentler approach helps to more easily close the stress loop. If we go too “big,” we run the risk of retraumatization. Therefore, less is more.
What can you do to prepare for a Somatic Experiencing session? Wear comfortable clothes, bring a drink of water or ask for one from your provider, and make sure you have time to transition from the session back into your day. The best thing, however, that you can bring with you is a sense of curiosity and willingness to try something new. Being open-minded to new experiences and interventions will unlock this world for you.
Start Your Somatic Experiencing Journey with a Licensed Kansas City Therapist
If reading about Somatic Experiencing work has led you to want more information, I encourage you to go to the SE website traumahealing.org to learn more. You can also read some of Dr. Peter Levine’s original works, including Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma which is an accessible way to understand more about the origins of this intervention.
If you are curious about booking an appointment with me for Somatic Experiencing in Kansas City to get started on your healing journey, contact me. I am happy to answer any question you might have. I understand that starting this process can feel intimidating or overwhelming, and I’m so happy to help!
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Stevie Spiegel is a Licensed Therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner located in Kansas City. She uses Somatic Experiencing as her main body-based trauma healing modality, as well as EMDR. As an Intuitive Eating Counselor, she uses these principles to help her clients challenge their relationship with their cultural misconceptions about their body and food. Learn More >
