What is Somatic Experiencing (SE)?

Somatic Experiencing (SE) was developed by Peter Levine and focuses on addressing the effects of trauma. It focuses on releasing people from where they may have been stuck in a traumatic event. For example, someone may develop chronic pain in a body part that was hit in a motor vehicle accident. The reason for that pain may not be physical but may be due to not going through certain processes that release the traumatic energy and therefore the energy stays in the body and creates tensions and pain.

The purpose of Somatic Experiencing is to help the body release the traumatic energy and to enable it to self-regulate.

The focus of Somatic Experiencing is to help the client find places of safety so that the client can experience sensations relating to traumatic events in a safe way and be able to process the trauma.

Somatic Experiencing can be very helpful for trauma and other conditions that involve a dysfunctioning nervous system from trauma.

Further Reading

Trauma Healing https://traumahealing.org

This is the official website for Somatic Experiencing. It has resources, information on trainings, and a place to look up therapists who have passed their official trainings.

Official Youtube Channel https://traumahealing.org/c/SomaticExperiencingInternational

Recommended Books

Healing Trauma – Peter Levine

This book is a simple little book that is a 12 phase Healing Trauma program. It provides the necessary information that is important to trauma healing but not all the science behind it (if you want the scientific background read Waking the Tiger or In an Unspoken Voice for that information). It includes a CD with 12 guided Somatic Experiencing exercises. There are a variety of exercises or modifications that you can use for each of the 12 phases.

In an Unspoken Voice – Peter Levine

This book summarizes Peter Levine’s work in trauma. It explains the science behind the strategies of Somatic Experiencing, why some people develop PTSD and others don’t, what you can do to lessen the chances of developing PTSD after a traumatic event, and what you can do to release the trauma that has become trapped in the body after a traumatic event.