Understanding Somatic Experiencing as a Therapeutic Modality
Sometimes we find ourselves seeking something else in our therapy sessions — perhaps something deeper, something different, or a new path forward in the work we’re already doing. One modality that may be worth exploring is Somatic Experiencing (SE).
Understanding the Mind-Body Connection
Somatic Experiencing is a form of body-centered therapy that interweaves psychotherapy and body-based approaches with the goal of creating a more holistic, whole-self intervention. SE explores the connection between the mind and body and can help release stress, tension, or trauma stored within the physical body.
There are several great resources available that explore how traumatic experiences can affect our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. One of the most influential voices in this work is Dr. Peter Levine, the creator of Somatic Experiencing. Dr. Levine became interested in studying stress responses in the animal nervous system after recognizing that animals are constantly exposed to threat and danger, yet do not appear to carry trauma in the same way humans often do.
The Nervous System and the Freeze Response
What he discovered was that trauma is closely connected to the body’s third survival response: freeze. When fight or flight are not possible, the nervous system shifts into freeze or immobilization — what we often think of as “playing dead.” This makes us less of a target.
However, this reaction is designed to be time-sensitive, in other words, it needs to run its course, and the massive energy that was prepared for fight or flight gets discharged, through shakes and trembling.
Why Trauma Can Feel “Stuck”
If the immobility phase is not completed, that charge stays trapped and, from the body’s perspective, it is still under threat. The Somatic Experiencing method works to release this stored survival energy and help turn off the nervous system’s threat alarm that can contribute to dysregulation, dissociation, hypervigilance, and chronic stress responses.
Resources for Learning More
Some helpful starting points for learning more about SE can be found through the Somatic Experiencing International website, particularly their “SE 101” resources. Dr. Levine has also written several well-known books, including Waking the Tiger and Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body. Another widely recommended resource is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, which explores the impact trauma can have on the brain, body, and nervous system.
Somatic Experiencing in Action
A Somatic Experiencing session will typically involve your provider engaging you in activities that track physical sensations and incorporate grounding exercises and gentle movements to build capacity and increase overall sense of stability and emotional regulation. Here are some activities you may experience:
Tracking body sensations like warmth, tingling, tightness, or vibration, without self-judgment, to support knowing and understanding how your body responds to its daily experiences.
Grounding and centering exercises that help bring you back to the present moment and space, such as feeling your feet on the floor, gentle rocking and humming, or doing a hot/cold hand or face soak to disrupt a nervous system response.
Resourcing which uses guided imagery to recall a person, place, or memory that brings feelings of safety, warmth, and calm to support nervous system regulation.
Another layer of the SE process is supporting interacting with the traumatic experiences without reliving them. Some activities designed to support this process include:
Titration involves carefully exploring small pieces of traumatic memory or sensation to avoid becoming overwhelmed or re-traumatized.
Orienting involves actively looking around the room to orient to the safe, present environment, which helps reassure the nervous system.
Discharge / Shake & Release is physical movement that allows the body to make involuntary movements, like shaking, yawning, or shivering, to release stored fight-or-flight energy.
Completion of Motor Actions which involves gently completing physically interrupted responses, such as slowly pushing away with hands or stretching legs, to resolve frozen defensive reactions.
Somatic Experiencing is a unique, innovative, and frequently effective therapeutic intervention that can support emotional and nervous system regulation. SE healing operates on the idea that negative experiences don’t only bring negative memories, thoughts, and mental difficulties, but they are also stored in the body, and, if not addressed can lead to physical diseases or pain.
Benefits of Engaging in Somatic Practices
The benefits of somatic therapy are multi-fold because it focuses on all three levels of health including physical sensations, the emotional activation that causes disruption, and the mental processes. Some potential SE benefits include:
Improving body-mind-emotions connection. Increasing awareness about and connection to the body, its sensations, and what they mean or represent.
Thinking through experiences and what they mean and represent for the client.
Releasing pent-up emotions from past negative experiences.
Reliance on emotional resources for self-regulation.
Grounding and calming in emotionally charged or triggering situations.
Physical movement and energy release through the body.
Obtaining tools and skills to self-soothe, release negative emotions, or calm oneself down.
Increasing the ability to shift the focus to less stressful thoughts.
Strengthening boundaries and abilities to care for oneself.
Emotional release and better physical health.
Ask your provider or use Psychology Today to find an SE practitioner near you to find out more.
Rachel Brown, MSW, SWLC
Resources
https://www.emdrtherapynashville.com/blog/somatic-therapy-everything-to-know