Somatic Experiencing
By Gina Cipriano
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is an alternative therapy developed by Dr. Levine that is used to help people heal from trauma (Somatic Experiencing, 2021). Trauma and stress related diagnoses can include some of the following: post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, and adjustment disorders. SE is unique from other therapies as its primary focus is on a person’s body’s response to trauma, rather than just a person’s emotions and mind (Somatic Experiencing, 2021).
When fight or flight responses are activated in a dangerous situation, but cannot be used, the body goes into freeze mode (Somatic Experiencing, 2021). These freeze responses can be seen in primitive reptiles such as lizards playing dead when they perceive a threat (Porges & Dana, 2018). Often, people in traumatic situations may be blamed for not fighting back or running away, but their body literally reacted in the best way it knew how to survive a situation. For lack of better words, their body froze, played dead, in hopes that a predator would lose interest and leave them alone. The body must complete the entire cycle of fight, flight, and freeze responses in order for it to understand it is not under threat anymore (Payne et al., 2015). If this cycle is not completed, the body and person will continue to react as if they are still enduring the traumatic situation (Payne et al., 2015).
During a SE session, a practitioner will help the client work up to recalling the traumatic situation only after their body feels safe and relaxed (Payne et al., 2015). To do this, they may have the client bring their attention to physical sensations within their body (such as the feel of their feet planted on the floor and the chair beneath them) (Payne et al., 2015). The sensations that they will focus on will be positive in nature to ensure that the client feels safe (Payne et al., 2015). Further, after a traumatic situation, many clients may began to focus on negative feelings within their body such as knots in their stomach, tension in their chest, and feet and hands going cold (Payne et al., 2015). However, SE starts by refocusing on the positive sensations within the body so that a client can begin to recognize when these occur (Payne et al., 2015).
Once a person has reached a more relaxed state, a SE practitioner may help them recall aspects surrounding the traumatic even, without discussing the traumatic event itself (Payne et al., 2015). This can include having the client think about the weather and sounds they heard (Payne et al., 2015). The practitioner will continue to help the client focus on bodily sensations that are occurring as they recall the day the traumatic situation happened (Payne et al., 2015). The events will begin to get closer and closer to the actual traumatic event which may lead to more intense bodily sensations (Payne et al., 2015). During this time, the practitioner may have the client performing grounding techniques such as naming things they see, feel, hear, and smell around the room (Payne et al., 2015). Finally, when actually recalling the traumatic situation, it may entail helping someone move their body in a way that they wish they could have to increase their power in the situation (Payne et al., 2015).
References Payne, P., Levine, P. A., & Crane-Godreau, M. A. (2015). Somatic experiencing: Using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00093 Porges, S. W., & Dana, D. A. (2018). Clinical applications of the polyvagal theory - the emergence of polyvagal-informed therapies. WW Norton.Somatic Experiencing. (2021). Se 101. https://traumahealing.org/se-101/ We offer Somatic Experiencing therapy for trauma and anxiety in Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter, FL.
