Somatic Experiencing® (SE)
When we go through prolonged stress, loss or trauma, the tension does not settle only into our thoughts and feelings — it is also stored in the body and the nervous system. Somatic Experiencing® is an internationally recognised, body-oriented approach developed by Dr Peter A. Levine over several decades of research.
As a Clinical Health Psychologist and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), I work with this scientifically recognised method, which gently releases accumulated stress through bodily sensation and restores the natural balance of the nervous system.
How does Somatic Experiencing work?
Unlike conventional talking therapies, SE approaches things from the body:
- No need to relive it
- You do not have to recount or relive distressing events in detail, which protects you from being re-traumatised.
- Small steps
- We work very gently, following the body's signals (titration), releasing only as much tension at a time as your nervous system can safely handle.
- Activating resources
- We look for the inner and outer supports that give you a sense of safety and stability.
What can SE help with?
The method offers highly effective support, for example with:
- Chronic stress and exhaustion
- When you constantly feel overloaded, tense, or else shut down and frozen.
- Heightened inner tension and stress reactions
- When the body's alarm responses surge up suddenly and beyond your control.
- The after-effects of traumatic experiences
- Following accidents, surgery, medical procedures, sudden losses or childhood trauma, and difficult life situations.
- Psychosomatic symptoms
- Physical complaints such as sleep or digestive problems, with stress and an overloaded nervous system behind them.
What happens in a session?
Settled in a safe space, we bring a theme to mind and I gently direct your attention to the bodily sensations arising in the present moment — tightness, warmth, the rhythm of your breath. We learn to follow and safely discharge these energies, so that your body can let go of tension it has stored for a long time.