Somatic Experiencing®
Our body is a constant companion, taking in and responding to our experiences. As we move through life, our nervous system learns and develops patterns of responding based on what has helped us survive.
Following overwhelming or traumatic experiences, our nervous system may continue responding as though danger is still present, even when it has passed. Consequently, we may become caught in physiological patterns of fight, flight, or freeze, causing a range of experiences such as anxiety, chronic pain, emotional numbness or reactivity, or feeling disconnected from ourselves and others. These and other trauma-related symptoms may occur immediately or emerge over time as our mind and body attempt to cope with what has occurred.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a gentle, body-based approach that helps your nervous system move out of survival mode toward greater flexibility and resilience. Rather than focusing only on memories, SE invites us to notice what is happening in the body in the present moment, and to work directly with how our experiences are navigated by our nervous system.
Somatic Experiencing aims to support the nervous system in returning to regulation, where it can move flexibly between states of safety and connection and states of activation or protection as needed. Over time, this work can increase your capacity to be with difficult sensations, emotions, and memories, as well as grow your capacity for ease, connection, and joy.
What Will We Do?
I integrate Somatic Experiencing into therapy alongside other evidence-based approaches. In sessions, we will periodically pause to notice your breathing, muscle tension, posture, and physical sensations, as well as any thoughts, emotions, and images that arise. Depending on your goals, we may explore tools for self-regulation or somatic exercises that support you in exploring a fuller range of embodiment and expression.
You won't be asked to relive traumatic experiences or tell every detail of your story. We will spend time both with resourcing — identifying sources of comfort and strength — and gradually contacting more challenging material. This intentional process helps your nervous system gradually meet and integrate unresolved stress responses, creating more capacity for flexibility, resilience, and connection in the present.
SE May Be Helpful If You're...
Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or "stuck"
Recovering from trauma or difficult life experiences
Living with chronic stress or burnout
Living with chronic pain or illness
Navigating grief or loss
Looking to strengthen your mind-body connection
Wanting to better understand your nervous system
SE can support healing from many different kinds of experiences, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), relational trauma, abuse or neglect, accidents, medical procedures, cumulative stress, loss, natural disasters, social and historical oppression, and other experiences that have impacted your felt sense of safety.