Somatic Experiencing Therapy for Trauma: Resolving Unfinished Business and Unfreezing the Past
Trauma treatment. The impact of trauma on an individual goes beyond emotional wounds, often leaving an indelible mark on the body itself. Conventional therapies have long recognized the need to address the psychological and physiological aspects of trauma, but Somatic Experiencing Therapy (SET) offers a unique approach that focuses on the interplay between mind and body. At the heart of SET is the concept of “unfinished business,” where unresolved survival reactions, particularly the freezing reaction, contribute to the long-lasting effects of trauma.
SET is rooted in several fundamental principles that guide the healing process:
Titration: SET recognizes that retraumatization can occur if overwhelming experiences are revisited too quickly. Therapists use titration, a technique that involves gradual exposure, to prevent individuals from becoming overwhelmed as they explore their traumatic memories and bodily sensations.
Pendulation: This principle emphasizes the rhythm between traumatic material and resources or safety. Swinging helps individuals move between distressing memories and positive sensations, allowing them to tolerate the process of revisiting the trauma while maintaining a sense of safety.
Sensation Monitoring: A cornerstone of SET involves monitoring bodily sensations. By cultivating awareness of physical experiences, individuals can connect with their bodies, identify areas of tension, and gradually release trapped energy associated with the trauma.
Cycle Completion: SET aims to facilitate the completion of incomplete survival responses triggered during traumatic events. This principle recognizes that the body’s natural response to danger—fight, flight, or freeze—may be dysfunctional, leaving the individual with a residual energy that must be discharged.
Resolving Unfinished Business: The Freeze Response
Key to understanding SET is recognizing that the body’s response to trauma extends beyond the well-known “fight or flight” response. The lesser-known “freeze” response often emerges as a survival strategy when neither fight nor flight seems possible. In these cases, the body’s natural response to mobilize energy becomes trapped, leaving individuals with feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and intense physiological arousal. This is where the concept of “unfinished business” comes into play.
Unfinished business refers to the incomplete physiological responses that remain in the body after a traumatic event. These unresolved responses can manifest as chronic tension, pain, or even emotional numbness. Somatic Experiential Therapy recognizes that healing trauma requires resolving this unfinished business and facilitating the completion of physiological responses that were thwarted during the traumatic experience. By safely guiding individuals to examine these past sensations and reactions, SET empowers them to release pent-up energy, unfreeze frozen physiological patterns, and move toward resolution.
Unfreezing the Frozen Past
SET provides a framework for individuals to gently engage with their traumatic memories and bodily sensations, fostering an environment of safety and support. SET-trained therapists help clients navigate the process of “unfreezing” the past by guiding them through titrated exposure to traumatic material and encouraging the completion of previously frozen survival responses.
SET, with its emphasis on resolving “unfinished business” and the freezing response, offers a unique approach to trauma healing. By allowing individuals to safely reconnect with their bodily sensations, complete physiological responses, and gradually unfreeze the frozen past, SET facilitates a holistic healing process that integrates both mind and body. As understanding of trauma continues to evolve, Somatic Experiencing Therapy stands as a testament to the profound transformations that can occur when individuals embark on a journey of holistic healing, freeing themselves from the shackles of unresolved trauma and finding renewed strength and resilience.
*Keywords: Trauma treatment, Trauma healing, Gestalt psychotherapy, somatic experiencing therapy, psychotherapy Zagreb
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