Somatic Experiencing® is a body-awareness approach to trauma being taught throughout the world. It is the result of over forty years of observation, research, and hands-on development by Dr. Peter Levine. Based upon the realization that human beings have an innate ability to overcome the effects of trauma, Somatic Experiencing has touched the lives of many thousands. SE® restores self-regulation, and returns a sense of aliveness, relaxation and wholeness to traumatized individuals who have had these precious gifts taken away. Peter has applied his work to combat veterans, rape survivors, Holocaust survivors, auto accident and post surgical trauma, chronic pain sufferers, and even to infants after suffering traumatic births.
Somatic Experiencing® techniques give clients a means to understand and work with their stress or camouflaged trauma by becoming aware of their stressors and reaction patterns. Through bodywork, the felt sense of the moment, and conscious feedback, client and bodyworker encourage the capacity to release stressors and become resilient. In SE, one can develop a refined system for understanding patterns of stress reaction and/or traumatic responses. This compassionate and progressive approach is designed to empower a client to explore issues at a self-regulated pace while taking ownership of their self-care by working with their responses to stressors.