What is the Somatic Experiencing® method?
Pioneered by Dr. Peter A. Levine, Somatic Experiencing®, or SE™, is a body-oriented approach to healing oneself from within. By studying and clinically applying stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices and medical biophysics, Dr. Levine developed the SE™ method and has successfully helped patients heal from trauma for 45 years. Nancy Moses trained with the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute and is certified to guide patients suffering from conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma.
Humans as Mammals
In our lives, we may experience a moment when our tribe has abandoned us, leaving us in a continual state of fight, flight, or freeze. In the wild, a mother bear defends her cub against a predator, a group of wolves moves as one to protect their pack, or one gazelle alerts the entire herd when danger is near. As humans, we experience the same fight, flight or freeze responses that other mammals do. And when our natural instincts of protection fail in the face of danger, trauma occurs.
Acute stress from a perceived threat to oneself can cause trauma, or it may occur as the result of cumulative stress in one’s life. Both acute and cumulative stress can severely impair a person and prevent them from functioning normally in their everyday life. Many threatening experiences can cause trauma, such as:
an accident
an invasive medical procedure
sexual or physical assault
emotional abuse
neglect
war
natural disasters
loss
birth trauma
stress from ongoing fear and conflict
Relational trauma from ongoing family issues complicates our capacity to connect with others. A feeling of abandonment happens when attachment is misplaced, and can be exacerbated with neglect or substance abuse, often moving along a spectrum. As mammals, we are hardwired to be together in groups. We need to be nurtured and protected, and to feel that our tribe always has our back.
As our bodies deal with traumatic experiences, a “vortex of trauma” can occur. It constantly drains our resources and throws us into an infinite loop of reaction, triggering the trauma repeatedly.
Healing is Possible
Using the SE™ method, patients who are “stuck” in a response to a traumatic experience in their life can find relief and resolve these fixated physiological states. Nancy helps patients move beyond the trauma, recalibrating their health and reaching a state of mental and physical equilibrium with gentle guidance and gradually increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions. As trauma is touched and released within a titrated manner, it gives us the capacity to see the good around us. When we listen deeply to your mind, body and spirit, we are empowered to heal ourselves and achieve alignment and greater capacity for connection and joy with ourselves and others. Releasing the trauma changes the limiting powers within our lives.
Ray’s Story
Ray, a Marine who was injured by two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq, was diagnosed with both severe PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). He experienced chronic pain, convulsions, cognitive problems and insomnia due to night terrors. After undergoing Somatic Experiencing® with Dr. Levine, his condition improved greatly. View his progress in this powerful video from the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute:
To learn more about the SE™ method, visit the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute’s website here.
Somatic Experiencing® Overview
This video from the Somatic Experiencing is a good introduction to the method:
Personal Experience
Nancy herself experienced the powerful healing of the SE™ approach after searching for years for relief from physiological symptoms due to past trauma. No matter how much cognitive behavioral therapy she underwent, mindfulness she tried, or meditation she practiced, Nancy was unable to move past the pain until she underwent SE™. Once she addressed the “stuck” trauma in her body, she was able to access the harmful patterns and release it. Like a tiger moving confidently in her natural habitat, today Nancy is free from the trauma and the pain it caused in her body. Her goal is to help others heal in the same way.
