What does Somatic Experiencing therapy offer?

SEis a form of alternative therapy aimed at alleviating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other health problems related to mental and physical trauma by focusing on the client’s perceptions of bodily sensations (or somatic experiences). It was developed by trauma therapist Peter A. Levine. Trauma is an event that occurred too quickly, too early, and too powerful for our nervous system to regulate and process.

for the client to solve physical and mental difficulties caused by trauma, and thus to be able to respond appropriately to everyday situations. SE helps to notice bodily sensations that arise from mental health problems, to stay with them, and to recognize painful and unpleasant sensations, as well as the situations in which they arise.

Somatic Experiencing therapy is mainly based on the idea of ​​freezing the nervous system. You are probably familiar with the “fight or flight response”. When some kind of threat arises that causes fear or anxiety, our body usually reacts by preparing to fight the threat or to flee. The responses are usually muscle tension, heart rate increases, breathing increases, the body is flooded with hormones, and all these changes prepare us for fight or flight.

But there is another response – freezing. People, especially children, usually freeze when they realize that they do not have a good enough chance of escaping or fighting. The point is, you can remain trapped in this response long after the threat has passed. You are no longer in danger, but your body still holds onto the energy built up from “fight or flight.” Because you are frozen, the energy has not been used to escape or fight, so it is trapped in your body and unconsciously prevents you from fully recovering from the experience. Our body does not “reset” to prepare for the next potential threat, but rather we continue to experience bits of the trapped experience as symptoms of trauma.

“Resources” are defined as anything that helps the client’s autonomic nervous system return to a regulated state. This could be a memory of someone close to them, a physical item that can ground them in the present moment, or other supports that minimize distress. In the face of arousal, it is facilitated to “let go” so that the client’s body can return to a regulated state. Letting go can take the form of tears, a warm feeling, an unconscious movement, the ability to breathe slowly again, or other responses that indicate that the autonomic nervous system is returning to baseline. The intention of this procedure is to strengthen the client’s inherent ability to self-regulate.

and for developmental traumas. Shock trauma is loosely defined as a single-episode traumatic event such as a car accident, natural disaster such as an earthquake, battlefield incident, physical assault, etc. Developmental traumarefers to various types of psychological damage that occurs during a child’s development when the child does not have sufficient or sufficiently high-quality attention from primary caregivers.

Somatic trauma healing therapy focuses on the physical and mental connection of a person during treatment and can be conducted in individual and group therapy settings. This type of trauma therapy can be used to address the physical and psychological symptoms of certain psychological issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, trauma, abuse, relationship problems, sexual problems, and the like. Somatic Experiencing therapy can also benefit those who have tried but failed with more traditional treatment methods after a traumatic experience. These treatments may include treatments for physical pain, digestive disorders, insomnia, and other medical problems.

Main concepts of Somatic Experiencing

Grounding

Grounding is a body technique that refers to a person’s ability to experience themselves as embodied in the moment. This somatic approach involves a person feeling their physical form, the ground beneath their feet, engaging their senses, and ultimately feeling a sense of safety in their body, calming their nervous system.

Razvoj granica

Boundary development involves an individual focus on the present moment, empowering the client to remain accountable for their changing needs and developing clear boundaries. This helps the client create a response or response to the traumatic experience, in which, unlike before, they feel strong and protected.

 

Self-regulation

Emphasizing the importance of consciously remaining connected to the body during strong emotions or sensations, the goal of self-regulation is to develop awareness of physical sensations, with the intention of regulating (or effectively responding to) emotional intensity.

Movement and Process

SE is used to help an individual learn to heal themselves by listening to their body. Positions, gestures and use of space provide insight into one’s experience, and in somatic therapy clients are encouraged to consciously deal with their impulses in order to find a solution to a problem.

Sequencing

When tension begins to release, sensations and/or emotions may occur throughout the body. Tension may build up in the abdomen, move to the chest, and finally settle into a tightness in the throat, or alternatively, tension may be released through tears and by regulating breathing more freely.

Titration

Titration is a part of SE that refers to the process of experiencing small amounts of frustration or discomfort in order to alleviate the pain of a previous traumatic experience. For example: When a client slowly begins to recall a past trauma, the therapist monitors the client’s body’s reaction and the feelings that come up and deals with them appropriately and helps the client find solutions to release the traumatic experience.

*Keywords: body-oriented therapy, somatic experiencing, trauma, body psychotherapy, trauma healing, trauma and recovery
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