Somatic Experiencing in Victoria, BC:
A Body-Based Approach to Trauma Healing
What is Somatic Experiencing?
SOMATIC EXPERIENCING® (SE™) is a powerful psychobiological modality for resolving trauma symptoms and relieving chronic stress.
It is the life work of Dr. Peter Levine, which resulted from his academic multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics along with 50 years of successful clinical application.
Traditionally, trauma has been regarded as a psychological and medical disorder of the mind.
However, through the pioneering work of Somatic (Body Psychotherapy) researchers such as Peter Levine, Pat Odgen and Steven Porges, we now know that trauma involves all aspects of the mind/body system and does not need to be a life sentence.
The SE approach releases traumatic shock in the nervous system.
This is key to transforming conditions such as:
PTSD
chronic pain syndromes
the emotional wounds of early developmental attachment trauma and
multigenerational trauma.
SE offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, freeze, or collapse responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states.
Meet our SE practitioner, Jacqueline Gautier, SEP, RCC.
Jacqueline’s services as an RCC are covered by many extended health benefits plans. Check your plan and get started today.
How does Somatic Experiencing Work: Here are 8 Unique Benefits of SE Therapy
Focuses on the Mind/Body Connection
Releases Trauma and Traumatic Energy Stored in the Body
Reduces Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression by Regulating the Nervous System
Supports Somatic Awareness in the Present Moment
Supports Emotional Regulation and Resiliency
Offers a Different Approach when Talk Therapy is Not Enough
Supports Long-Term Sustainable Healing
Improves Physical Symptoms related to Trauma, Abuse and Emotional Distress including:
Chronic Pain
Digestive Concern
Muscle Tension
Sleep Problems
Respiratory Issues
What to Expect in a Somatic Experiencing Session
In an SE therapy session, you can expect a combination of talking and body-focused exercises and experiences.
Clients may work standing up, sitting, or lying down.
You’ll start by learning more about your autonomic nervous system and the part it plays in your trauma response.
The therapist asks you to notice and track sensations in your body.
The primary goal is to gradually uncover bodily sensations and patterns associated to traumatic experiences.
We encourage you to complete the “stuck” survival responses to release or discharge the trauma-bound energy, and repattern the nervous system, and resource you to increased strength and resilience.
Note: You will always be fully clothed. Gentle supportive touch may be used when appropriate and agreed upon. There is never manipulation of tissue or any form of sexual touch.
The Essential Hallmarks of Somatic Experiencing
1. Recognizing Bodily Sensations
Being able to acquire physical knowledge helps many people who feel confused about their response during a traumatic event or believe they should have reacted differently. Your therapist will help you begin increasing your awareness of bodily sensations and physical symptoms.
2. Resourcing
Resourcing involves drawing on positive memories of a place, person, or something you love when you feel distressed or encounter something triggering. Resourcing can help you stay calm and present as you encounter felt trauma sensations or memories of the event.
3. Titration
Once you’ve got resourcing down, your therapist will begin slowly revisiting the trauma and related sensations. This is called titration. It’s a gradual process that allows you to come to terms with and integrate each aspect of the event, as you feel ready to do so. It slows down the trauma to allow you to handle it.
As you begin slowly revisiting the trauma, your therapist will track your responses and bodily sensations the trauma brings up. This is done by observing your responses, which may involve breathing changes, clenching of body parts, or a shift in tone of voice.
They’ll also check in with you about anything you feel that they might not see, such as:
hot or cold sensations
a sense of weightiness
dizziness
numbness
4. Pendulation
In somatic therapy, these sensations, along with things like crying, shaking, or shivering, are considered to be a discharge of the energy trapped in your body.
Your therapist might also help you use specific breathing or relaxation techniques to help you process and release the trauma. When this release happens, your therapist will help you move from this aroused (sympathetic) state to a calmer (parasympathetic) one using resourcing or other techniques.
Eventually, this swinging back to a calmer state will start to feel more natural.
With over 60,000 accredited SE practitioners in over 40 countries worldwide, Somatic Experiencing continues to grow and provide profound results as an approach that taps into the power of psychological and physical cues to service as a client’s unique guide to effective and long-lasting trauma healing.