Somatic experiencing
SE™ is a body-centered trauma healing method that works primarily with the nervous system. The goal is to address biological responses to stress, overwhelm, and trauma that can get stuck in the body - such as fight, flight and freeze responses. This can leave your nervous system in an activated state or collapsed state more often than is helpful and can interfere with daily life.
Symptoms of this might be emotional, mental, physical, or a combination of the three, including: affected sleep, anxiety, depression, overwhelming emotions, mood swings, fatigue, disorientation, difficulty focusing, digestive issues, headaches/migraines, aches and pains, and more.
A SOMATIC EXPERIENCING SESSION TYPICALLY LOOKS LIKE A MIX BETWEEN CONVERSATION, BODY AWARENESS, AND SE EXERCISES. THE PRACTITIONER AND CLIENT SIT TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT PRESENTING ISSUES, BUT WITH PLENTY OF PAUSING TO TRACK BODILY SENSATIONS, MOVEMENT IMPULSES, EMOTIONS, IMAGERY, AND MEANING. THIS GIVES SPACE AND TIME FOR US TO LEARN YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM’S NEEDS AND IMPLEMENT VARIOUS EXERCISES TO RELEASE WHAT MAY BE STUCK AND TO ENCOURAGE NEW PATTERNS. WE DO THIS WORK TOGETHER SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY, AS TO MINIMIZE OVERWHELM BEST WE CAN.
SE employs awareness of body sensation to help people “renegotiate” and heal rather than re-live or re-enact trauma.
SE’s guidance of the bodily “felt sense”, allows the highly activated survival energies to be safely experienced and gradually discharged.
SE “titrates” experience (breaks down into small, incremental steps), rather than evoking catharsis-which can overwhelm the regulatory mechanisms of the organism.
SE may employ touch in support of the renegotiation process, always with discussion and permission first.
You can reach out to Sally for more information at: se.with.sally@gmail.com or visit https://traumahealing.org/