A Body-Based Path to Healing Trauma
Many of us carry stress, anxiety, and overwhelm that doesn’t respond to logic or insight. We might understand our patterns, name our trauma, even track where it came from—and still feel stuck. That’s because healing isn’t just a cognitive process. It’s a physiological one.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-centered approach to trauma healing developed in the 1970s by Dr. Peter Levine, based on the idea that trauma is not in the event—it’s in the nervous system’s response to that event. SE helps people gently work with their body’s natural rhythms, rather than forcing insight or pushing through pain. At Somatic Psychotherapy, we use Somatic Experiencing as a way to support clients in reconnecting with their bodies, regulating their nervous systems, and reclaiming a sense of safety and ease.
How SE Understands Trauma
In the wild, animals regularly experience threat—but rarely develop trauma. When a deer outruns a predator, it may collapse in freeze mode, but once it’s safe, it trembles, shakes, and then walks away. Its body completes the cycle.
Humans, on the other hand, often interrupt that process. We shut down. We override. We “keep it together.” When our bodies don’t get to finish the survival response, the energy gets stuck—and we carry it as chronic tension, anxiety, numbness, or dysregulation. SE helps that energy get un-stuck, in a safe, titrated way, so the body can finally let go.
(Here’s a short video that shows what this looks like in the wild.)
What a Session Might Look Like
Somatic Experiencing sessions are often slower and quieter than traditional therapy. There may be talking, but it’s in service of noticing: What happens inside when I remember that moment? Is my breath shallow or deep? What does my body want to do right now?
We might not dive directly into “the big thing.” Instead, we follow small sensations, images, impulses, and shifts—working with the nervous system at the pace it’s ready for. It’s subtle, but profound. Over time, clients find that things that once overwhelmed them feel easier to stay present with. The body becomes a place they can trust again.
Core Concepts in Somatic Experiencing
To understand SE, let’s get familiar with a few foundational tools:
Resourcing
Connecting with something—internal or external—that brings a sense of support or ease. It might be the memory of a safe person, the sensation of a weighted blanket, or the sound of your own breath.
Pendulation
Gently moving between activation (stress, discomfort, tension) and regulation (safety, ease, connection), helping the nervous system remember that it can return to baseline.
Titration
Introducing overwhelming material in small, manageable doses—one drop at a time—so the system stays present and regulated.
Interoception
Sensing what’s happening inside your body—heartbeat, warmth, tension, breath—and slowly rebuilding awareness of those inner cues.
Discharge
As trauma resolves, the body may release energy through trembling, yawning, crying, or sighing—natural signs that the survival response is completing.
A Different Way In
For those who have tried to “think their way” out of suffering, Somatic Experiencing offers a different entry point. It doesn’t require reliving trauma in a way that overwhelms or retraumatizes. It asks something simpler—and sometimes harder: to notice. To stay. To allow.
With the right support, the nervous system can learn to settle, complete, and move forward—with more freedom and less fear.
FAQs
Do I have to talk about my trauma for SE to work?
No. Somatic Experiencing is based on felt experience, not storytelling. You never have to relive or explain traumatic events to heal. The body leads, and we follow gently.
Can I combine SE with other types of therapy?
Yes. Many of our clients pair SE with talk therapy, IFS, or KAP. We’ll co-create an approach that feels right for your system.
Is Somatic Experiencing available online?
Absolutely. We offer virtual somatic therapy across NY, including SE-informed sessions. All work is paced with care, even in telehealth settings.
Ready to Reconnect With Your Body?
If you’re tired of feeling stuck—or overwhelmed by therapy that pushes too fast—Somatic Experiencing might be the doorway in.
Reach out here to begin. We’d be honored to walk with you.
