What is trauma healing?

Trauma is often defined as psychological pain or injury, however,  primarily it affects the body. When we are overwhelmed by a threat and unable to defend ourselves our bodies instinctually go into “survival mode”. 

This highly aroused state, if left untreated over time, begins to form the symptoms of trauma. At the core of these symptoms is the body’s attempt to manage incomplete ‘fight-flight-freeze’ reactions. Containing this pent-up crisis energy can result in patterns such as migraines, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and a wide variety of behavioral symptoms such as anxiety and panic attacks, disassociation, extreme mood shifts, depression and feelings of isolation.

Common causes of trauma are are automobile accidents, falls, catastrophic injuries and illnesses, earthquakes, severe childhood emotional, physical or sexual abuse. 

What is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing (SE), developed by Dr. Peter Levine, is a body-focused approach to access the body’s instinctual system in order to restore the equilibrium of the nervous system. Its goal is to help the body out of the arousal system of fight or flight so that we don’t continue to react as if a threat still exists. 

In a bodywork session, as the body’s bound energy is released, sometimes trauma naturally resolves on it’s own. SE is a helpful approach when we need to focus more directly on the activity of the autonomic nervous system and “tease out” these instinctual responses so that trauma can resolve.