What is Somatic Experiencing® trauma resolution?

Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) psychobiological trauma resolution is a potent method for resolving trauma symptoms and relieving chronic stress. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter Levine, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, together with 45 years of successful clinical application.

The SE™ approach releases traumatic shock which is the key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early development attachment trauma.

How does SE™ work?

SE™ is a biophysiological approach to healing trauma. Dr. Peter Levine has said that trauma does not rest in the event but in the individual’s nervous system. By paying attention to the client’s nervous system, the trained therapist supports the client in their experience of a more ‘coherent’ and ‘resilient’ nervous system.

What is a typical session like?

The SE™ trauma resolution method does not require the traumatized person to re-tell or re-live the traumatic event. Instead it offers the opportunity to engage, complete and resolve – in a slow and supported way – the body’s instinctual fight, flight, and freeze responses.

This process resets the nervous system, restores inner balance, enhances resilience to stress, and increases people’s vitality, equanimity, and capacity to actively engage in life. The SE™ practitioner offers an environment of impartial and compassionate support to facilitate your release of trauma throughout your body.

What kinds of trauma can SE™ treat?

SE™ practitioners can successfully work with developmental traumas (such as childhood neglect and abuse and ongoing medial and/or physical issues) and with shock traumas (such as minor vehicle accidents, assaults, operations, and falls).

Does it really work?

Somatic Experiencing® psychobiological trauma resolution works with all ages of individuals who have experienced shock or developmental trauma.

How long does SE™ take?

The length of time and the number of sessions in which a client will visit a practitioner will depend on several factors, including the severity and duration of the trauma(s) and the degree to which the trauma has affected the individual’s nervous system.

A conversation with the practitioner in the initial session may be helpful in providing this kind of information.

What should I know about my SE™ Practitioner’s training?

Those practitioners who are designated as Somatic Experiencing Practitioners (SEPs) have completed a program in which they have accumulated 216 hours of training, as well as professional consultations and personal SE sessions. This training is intended to work with other professional and academic training.

It is expected that an SE practitioner (i.e., psychiatrist, medical doctor, psychologist, counselor, social worker, body-oriented therapist, and body workers) will hold membership in a professional therapeutic body which has professional standards and a code of ethics and that the practitioner has professional liability insurance.

Take the next step!

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To learn more about Somatic Experiencing®, click here.

©Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute