Explore more than just conventional talk therapy.

EMBODIED TRAUMA THERAPY IN NORTH CAROLINA AND NEBRASKA

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YOU’RE READY FOR A NEW APPROACH TO THERAPY.

Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) is a gentle, body-based approach to healing trauma, stress, and nervous system dysregulation. Rather than focusing solely on thoughts or memories, SE™ works with the body’s natural responses—such as tension, sensations, and movement—to safely process and release the effects of trauma. Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, this method supports clients in restoring a sense of safety, connection, and resilience from the inside out.

This body-based approach is both educational and experiential in nature, helping an individual complete responses that were physiologically bound at the time of overwhelm.  With adequate resource, the body may have a physiological release and discharge. Sometimes these look like trembling or shaking or vibration and heat moving through the body. At other times, the individual may simply experience a state change to safety and calm during the work- so appreciated by individuals with C-PTSD.

A typical session is a seated, face-to-face interaction between practitioner and client. Sessions are usually 60 minutes, although they sometimes run longer.  Please give yourself adequate time to rest afterwards and drink plenty of water. It is more effective if you do not immediately return to work or a stressful activity.  

SE™ is considered valid for both shock trauma—single-episode traumatic experiences such as falls, accidents, attack, or natural disasters—and developmental traumas, which are cumulative and refer to interruptions in the predictable social-emotional stages of growth.

A restored sense of self, awareness of the gifts of experience and strengthened resiliency are common outcomes.  It also should not be overlooked that SE™ can at times be a deeply spiritual experience, as the journey of the soul sometimes parallels human suffering.  Profound awakenings can occur when freeing bound energies- which then will allow Life Force Energies to finally be accessible and available to you in your life. 

How somatic experiencing can help

How SE works

Somatic Experiencing® focuses on the mind-body connection, helping individuals release trauma stored in the body through awareness of physical sensations and movements. 

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What to expect

Somatic Experiencing® emphasizes the sensations and responses of the body to trauma and is a wonderful continuation of the work done here including horses (check that out here!) Traditional talk therapy uses a “top down” approach by focusing on thoughts and emotions first.  

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How it can help you

Somatic Experiencing® is great for all people who would like to deepen their capacity to be embodied and build resiliency It is especially beneficial for the impacts of trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and physical symptoms related to emotional distress.

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why somatic experiencing®

MOVE OUT OF survival mode AND BACK INTO YOUR LIFE

somatic experiencing

Who it’s for

SOMATIC EXPERIENCING® TREATS THE FOLLOWING:

  • Developmental Attachment Wounds

  • Military, first responder trauma 

  • Generational Patterns in Families 

  • Social Justice Traumas

  • Invasive Medical Procedures/ Waking up during Surgery

  • Motor Vehicle Accidents 

  • Near Death Experiences

  • Attacks/Sexual Violence

  • Witnessing Violence or Horror

  • Physical and Emotional Abuse

  • Natural Disasters

  • Falls

  • Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms

  • Peri- , Pre-Natal and Birth Trauma 

  • “Stacked” Grief and Loss

DARE TO DO IT different

In the truest bodily sense, trauma is about overwhelm. It has become much more prevalent in the past several years with the increasing strife on our planet - as well as the very real threat of environmental devastation. All living beings are now under increased survival stress and it is crucial that we begin to access the Gifts of our Neurobiology for healing and connecting. We are designed to heal, in the most basic and intrinsic way. Living in constant immobility and freeze does not have to be a way of life: we are not meant to stay “stuck.” SE™ offers a very real method for engaging the deep hard-wiring of both biological systems: those of Survival and of Loving, Bonding and Connecting

Our bodies have evolved over the millenniums for survival, being part of the earth.  Although we may be separated from this early existence of fighting and fleeing the saber toothed tiger, our bodies continue to pump the adrenal hormones of catecholamines for the fight-flight responses that are hard wired at the very core of our nervous systems.  Overwhelming experiences may result in physical harm, or not, but if an individual perceives a life threat and, has lasting and prolonged symptoms of stress and dysregulation in their nervous system, they can be said to have Post Traumatic Stress Response. It is uncomfortable, frightening, inconvenient and makes us shy away from activities and connections with others and the environment.  If left untreated, these neuro-biological changes are thought to contribute to chronic medical conditions such as IBS, insomnia, fibromyalgia, panic attacks, chronic fatigue and pain, and numerous ‘auto-immune’ disorders etc.

The good news is that our bodies are also designed to self-regulate, complete a thwarted attack and release those stored energies.  This instinctual system is finely honed and with education, time and the right kind of support typically can be restored to wholeness and equilibrium. Building new neural pathways of mastery, flow and resiliency is our birthright as well!

Somatic Experiencing (SE™) is a method your provider is equipped to use in session with you after you have discussed the impact and efficacy of the treatment protocol. SE™ integrates psychobiological approaches towards the goal of resolving trauma symptoms and relieving chronic stress. SE™ practitioners join with clients to become curious about where a person's nervous system could be “stuck” in any number of the following threat responses: fight, flight, freeze, appease, or collapse. These responses were exquisitely developed and we believe that your system's responses to danger or overwhelm were executed and initiated with the ultimate goal of protecting you when faced with impossible situations. Learn more by following this link Traumahealing.org

Please know this:

HEALING is POSSIBLE.

FAQs

COMMON QUESTIONS

  • The Somatic Experiencing® method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter A. Levine, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, together with over 45 years of successful clinical application. The SE™ approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. It offers a framework for finding where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states.

    The Somatic Experiencing® approach facilitates the completion of self-protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, thus addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms. This is approached by gently guiding clients to develop increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions. Advanced applications of this method of resolving trauma reactivity may include therapeutic touch and regulation via somatic supports and relational attachment repair.

  • When our bodies experience something that is too much, too fast, or too soon, our body/minds cope by channeling the powerful, unprocessed survival energy into mental and physical symptoms. These symptoms can express as mental or emotional experiences such as anxiety, dissociation, apathy, hyper-vigilance, difficulty maintaining boundaries, or inability to settle – to name a few. Over time, they can also consolidate into physical symptoms and syndromes such as chronic pain or immune disorders.

  • Trauma can also be understood, in this context, as something that keeps us reacting to past circumstances or future fears rather than creatively engaging with the present moment.

  • In our sessions, curiosity supports us to slow down our embodied experience of what was once too much – inviting the body to tell its story and enact missing experiences. In the process, long held survival impulses can complete and discharge. Some common results include expanded tolerance for both pleasure and discomfort, learned skills for self-regulation, increased vitality, reduced overwhelm, and the ability to state and maintain clear and healthy boundaries so new life choices are possible.