What is Somatic Work?

In Somatic Experiencing, we teach that trauma is not caused by the event itself, but rather that it develops through the inability of the body, psyche, and nervous system to process the overwhelming  event.

SE facilitates the completion of self-protective responses and the release of stuck survival energy within the body, thus addressing the root cause of stress physiology, trauma physiology and/or somatic symptoms.  Thus, creating other choice points in the body outside of stress trauma physiology.

This is approached by gently building our capacity to develop an increased tolerance of sensations and emotions in the body. ​ SE does not require the person to re-tell or re-live the traumatic event. Instead, it allows the person to engage, complete, and resolve the body’s instinctual survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, and collapse) in a slow, titrated supportive way.  People stuck in these survival states can then move into a greater sense of ease  increasing felt sense of safety. Individuals stuck in protective trauma responses can find their feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, isolation, hopelessness and numbness transformed. SE activates corrective bodily experiences that contradict those of fear and helplessness. This resets the nervous system to restore inner balance, enhance resiliency, and increase vitality, equanimity, and capacity to actively engage in life.

Somatic Touch is uniquely designed intervention intended to support the physiology in the  recovery from physical and/or emotional overwhelm. This body oriented modality works to establish new pathways in our neurophysiology which  moves  the client towards safety, rest and over all well-being.

Somatic Touch, self-regulation skills, and somatic regulation and resilience are attachment-focused neurophysiological methods of hands-on healing. The Somatic Experiencing® practitioner has advanced training in touch which allows the practitioner to directly support the client's physiology.

Touch supports regulation, inner connection differentiation, boundary formation, and development of the felt sense of safety while anchored in attachment.

Intentional Touch work is an equally effective way of facilitating regulation within the client’s nervous system. The virtual platform that has emerged during the pandemic has allowed practitioners from around the world the opportunity to become more skillful in this arena.