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Somatic Experiencing: Healing Trauma through the Body’s Natural Wisdom

Daniel Holbach
Man in dance studio posing against floor

Trauma profoundly impacts not just our emotions and mind, but also our physical body. Whether it results from a single catastrophic event, ongoing stress, or childhood adversity, trauma often disrupts the body’s natural ability to regulate itself.

Somatic Experiencing (SE), a body-based therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine in the 1970s, seeks to address this disruption by helping individuals release stored energy in the body and help the body come back to a natural pendulation between times of more and less activation in the nervous system.

Unlike many trauma treatments that focus primarily on cognitive processing, SE emphasizes the body’s innate healing abilities, encouraging individuals to listen to and process their somatic (bodily) sensations.

This article will delve into the principles of Somatic Experiencing, explain how it differs from traditional talk therapies, and provide two short examples to illustrate its application and versatility.

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Understanding Trauma and the Body

Trauma occurs, when an individual experiences something so overwhelming, that it exceeds their ability to cope. The body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a critical role in managing our responses to stress. When faced with danger, the body activates the “fight,” “flight,” or “freeze” responses. These physiological reactions are meant to be temporary—once the threat is resolved, the body naturally discharges the excess energy and returns to a balanced state.

However, if the body cannot fully process these responses, such as when a person is immobilized by fear or helplessness, the unresolved energy can become trapped within the nervous system. This unprocessed survival energy manifests as a range of symptoms—chronic pain, anxiety, dissociation, hypervigilance, and other physical or emotional issues. These lingering symptoms are signs of trauma’s effect on the nervous system.

Unlike many animals in the wild, humans have a tendency to override or suppress their natural stress-release mechanisms. Animals instinctively discharge their survival energy through shaking, trembling, or other physical movements after a stressful event. Humans, on the other hand, often internalize the stress, leaving it unresolved in their bodies. Somatic Experiencing aims to address this by helping individuals release this trapped energy.

Unresolved energy can become trapped within the nervous system and manifest in a range of chronic or episodic symptoms.

Principles of Somatic Experiencing

Dr. Peter Levine, who developed Somatic Experiencing after decades of studying stress and trauma, based his approach on observations of animals in the wild. His work is built on the understanding that trauma is not just a psychological problem, but a physiological one. Somatic Experiencing helps individuals gently complete the body’s natural self-protective responses, that were interrupted during a traumatic event.

SE therapy is rooted in several key principles:

  1. The Felt Sense: This refers to a person’s internal awareness of their bodily sensations, particularly those, that relate to their emotional state. In SE, clients are encouraged to tune into their physical sensations, which helps them access the underlying survival energy associated with trauma. By becoming more aware of their felt sense, individuals can learn to release trapped energy in a safe and controlled manner.
  2. Titration: Rather than diving deeply into a traumatic memory all at once, SE practitioners use a method called titration. This involves addressing the trauma in small, manageable doses, ensuring that the client doesn’t become overwhelmed and a renegotiation or a new experience is possible. The process is slow and incremental, reducing the risk of retraumatization.
  3. Pendulation: SE therapists guide clients through a process called pendulation, which involves moving between states of distress (activation) and states of safety or calm (deactivation). By oscillating between these states, clients learn to regulate their nervous system, helping them process traumatic energy without being flooded by it. This helps the client get back a sense of more control.
  4. Completion of the Survival Response: SE facilitates the completion of the body’s natural defensive responses, like fight, flight, or freeze. By allowing these responses to play out, even symbolically or through small movements, SE helps the nervous system return to a regulated state.
  5. Polyvagal Theory: SE is informed by the polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. This theory explains how the autonomic nervous system reacts to stress and danger. SE uses this understanding to guide clients through different levels of nervous system activation, helping them move from dysregulation (such as a fight, flight, or freeze state) to safety and social engagement.

How Somatic Experiencing Works

Unlike traditional talk therapy, SE does not require clients to verbally relive their traumatic experiences. Instead, the focus is on the body’s sensations and how the nervous system responds to certain triggers. Sessions typically involve:

The felt sense, pendulation, and completion of the survival response through stretching, shaking, or pushing are all important facets of Somatic Experiencing (SE).

Case Example: Healing from Childhood Trauma

Let’s take the example of John, a 40-year-old man who sought Somatic Experiencing therapy for unresolved childhood trauma. John had grown up in an abusive household, where he frequently felt trapped and helpless. After all these years he still experienced panic attacks, chronic back pain, and an overwhelming sense of fear in certain situations. He often felt “frozen” or paralyzed when confronted with conflict.

In his first SE session, John’s therapist asked him to notice any physical sensations in his body. John reported a tightness in his chest and a lump in his throat. Rather than pushing John to talk about his childhood experiences, the therapist encouraged him to stay with the physical sensations, observing them without judgment.

As John focused on the tightness in his chest, the therapist asked him to describe what it felt like. John noted that it felt like pressure, as though something heavy was pressing down on him. The therapist then guided John to explore other parts of his body to see if there were any areas of ease or comfort. John noticed that his legs felt more grounded.

The therapist worked with John to move between these sensations of tension and ease, using pendulation to help him find balance. Over time, John’s chest tightness began to loosen. In subsequent sessions, the therapist helped John explore his body’s natural impulses, such as the urge to push or run, which had been suppressed during his childhood.

By allowing these suppressed survival responses to surface and be completed through small, symbolic movements, John began to experience some relief from his physical symptoms. Over time, John felt more empowered and less paralysed by fear.

Case Example: Healing from a Car Accident

Anna, a 32-year-old woman, was involved in a severe car accident two years ago. Although she physically recovered, she continued to suffer from anxiety, nightmares, and an overwhelming fear of driving. She also experienced chronic neck and shoulder pain, despite no identifiable medical cause. She tried many different methods of relaxation and to deal with the situation, but Anna still felt trapped by her traumatic memories and bodily discomfort.

In her first SE session, the practitioner began by asking Anna to describe her current sensations. She mentioned a tightness in her chest and a heavy, sinking feeling in her stomach when she thought about the accident. Rather than diving directly into the memory of the event, the practitioner guided Anna to simply notice these sensations and stay with them. As Anna focused on the tightness in her chest, it gradually began to shift, and she noticed her breathing becoming more shallow.

At this point, the practitioner asked Anna if she could also find any areas of comfort in her body. Anna paused and said her legs felt somewhat grounded. The practitioner encouraged her to focus on this sense of grounding while also maintaining awareness of the discomfort in her chest. After a few minutes of moving between these sensations, Anna’s chest tightness began to release. She reported feeling a subtle but distinct sense of relief.

In subsequent sessions, the practitioner used pendulation to help Anna safely explore the trauma stored in her body. As they slowly worked through the sensations connected to the accident—such as the jolt of impact and the fear she felt when the car spun out of control—Anna’s body started to release the survival energy that had been trapped for two years. Over time, her anxiety lessened, her nightmares became less frequent, and her neck and shoulder pain diminished.

Gotchas regarding these case examples

Please note: the aim behind SE is not to treat physical symptoms. It is just that stored shock energy often comes in the form of heightened tension and high activation, which have a wide variety of effects on the body and can produce a lot of different symptoms.

The therapy process also relies on factors such as: How much access to resources do I have in my life and how much capacity do I have for change?, or how early did the trauma happen and have I been exposed to multiple traumas? Depending on these factors, the treatment might take longer. 

The Evidence for Somatic Experiencing

Although Somatic Experiencing has gained considerable popularity, research on its effectiveness is still developing. Studies have shown promising results, particularly for individuals dealing with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, a randomized controlled trial in 2017 found that SE significantly reduced PTSD symptoms in a group of individuals who had experienced trauma. Participants who received SE also reported improvements in their overall quality of life and mental health outcomes.

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The Benefits of Somatic Experiencing

Somatic experiencing offers several unique benefits as a trauma treatment:

  1. Non-invasive: SE does not require individuals to rehash traumatic memories in explicit detail, reducing the risk of retraumatization.
  2. Body-centered: By focusing on physical sensations, SE helps individuals process trauma stored in the body, which is often overlooked in traditional therapies.
  3. Promotes self-regulation: SE teaches clients how to tune into their body’s signals and regulate their nervous system, building resilience over time.
  4. Adaptable to various forms of trauma: SE can be applied to a wide range of traumatic experiences, from single-incident traumas to more complex developmental or relational traumas.

Conclusion

Somatic Experiencing can help us address trauma by tapping into the body’s innate healing mechanisms. By focusing on bodily sensations, completing interrupted survival responses, and gently guiding the nervous system back to balance, SE allows individuals to heal from trauma at a deep, physiological level. 

Sources

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