Somatic Experiencing

Ever feel something but can’t express it in words?

Maybe you walk, turn your head, and a rush fills you…

Or you have a flashback that floods you with intense emotion…

Or a friend says something that throws you into negative thinking for the rest of the day…

All you know is that your mind and body are seized, and you can’t verbalize why.

So, where does it come from?

When you experience something traumatic, your body is programmed with a “fight, flight, or freeze” response. That’s important for survival, but the problem is that this response often continues into the present, getting triggered by all sorts of things that bring that trauma back.

It’s like the trauma is trapped in your body, looking for any opportunity to come out.

That’s why you sometimes experience intense emotions, haunting memories, and out-of-control reactions without a clear cause.

You might experience dissociation or disconnection from your body (especially if you’ve experienced physical or sexual abuse)… or feel shame because you respond to certain situations or people in “inappropriate ways.” Please know that this has NOTHING to do with how intelligent or capable you are.

It’s just that the trauma is stuck in your nervous system, desperately seeking to be processed.

Sometimes talk therapy isn’t enough.

When you have unresolved trauma, you often need another method to process what is going on.

This is where “somatic experiencing” comes in…

Somatic experiencing helps increase your awareness of what’s happening in your brain and body in the face of troublesome thoughts or memories. The therapist is trained to recognize small movements or indications of trauma in your body and help you safely ride out these somatic experiences as you begin to heal.

As you focus on the traumatic event, we’ll explore the thoughts, images, movements, and impressions that come up for you. As you begin to reconnect to your body, the stress of the trauma will be released.

As a part of this therapy, you’ll also get new skills and resources to help you recognize your triggers and “down-regulate” your emotions when you face them.

And best of all: Somatic experiencing doesn’t require you to completely retell or relive the trauma as most other therapies do.