Somatic Experiencing ®
Somatic Experiencing ®
SE® is a trauma-based approach developed by Peter Levine where we work with the body to release the impact that stressful experiences have left on the nervous system. Unlike a purely talk-based approach, this work helps us connect with the nervous system in a way that allows us to approach difficult experiences without becoming overwhelmed or feeling as though we are reliving them. This is not to say that talking does not take place in the sessions, social connection is vital and this is a safe space for you where you can feel at ease to talk and express yourself whenever you need. The difference is that you are invited to slow down, and check in with your body and your nervous system throughout. We give space to the body and whatever sensations and emotions may arise alongside the story, while ensuring that you feel supported and safe throughout the process. Often when we talk about events that have shocked us, it can feel as though we are reliving them. That’s why it is important to slow down and return again and again to a sense of safety as we go. In the same way, it is not necessary to talk about anything if you do not feel the need, and we can work purely in the body.
The approach is based on the nervous system’s natural survival responses: fight, flight, and freeze. Imagine a zebra and a lion in the wild. The zebra senses the threat of the lion, and automatically its nervous system recognises that fighting is not a viable option, so it begins to flee (run away). As the lion starts catching up with the zebra, fighting is not a viable option and fleeing is no longer possible because the lion is too fast.
The only thing left is the freeze response. The zebra will freeze and collapse, as if dead. The zebra is not actively playing dead, its nervous system responses have taken over as a survival mechanism. In this moment, the lion may interpret the zebra as being dead and move away, or return with its cubs so they can all feed together.
There is obviously still a chance that the lion completes the hunt, but at least if it does the zebra will not be consciously aware of it as it is in a state of dissociation within the freeze response. If the lion does not complete the hunt, the zebra will slowly come out of the freeze response and have a major discharge which is a release of accumulated energy, often seen as shaking.
The zebra will quite literally shake off its freeze response and return to a regulated state - that might be a daily occurrence in the wild!
As humans, we go through the same processes in our nervous systems. The difference is we have lost the natural capacity to ‘shake it off’, or discharge in some other way (could be crying, yawning, sighing, amongst others). So the energy that was frozen in the moment of stress stays trapped inside of us, and we can continue to live from these fight/flight/freeze responses. It’s common to see people trapped inside these responses.
Someone living from a fight response may feel the need to fight against everything in their life, someone living from a flight response may stay more hidden away and someone living from a freeze response may move through life feeling dissociated, spaced out, and often disconnected from the aliveness of the world around them. These responses save our lives and many of us might not be here today without them so we have a lot to be grateful for but we don’t need these responses to run our daily lives, stopping us from being able to be present in our bodies, our relationships and the way we perceive the world.
Somatic Experiencing® holds space for these responses to be completed while you feel safe in your body, so that you can return to your natural state of aliveness, presence and freedom.