“ How do you quiet down the frightened animal inside of you? The answer to that is probably in the same way that you quiet down babies. You quiet them by holding and touching them, by being very much in tune with them, by feeding and rocking them, and by very gradual exposure to trying new things.” (Bessel van der Kolk, MD)
Trauma
Trauma is a fact of life, but despite what most people think, trauma is not what happens to someone, it is what happens within someone. This means that trauma does not reside in the external event that induces physical or emotional pain, nor even in the pain itself, but in our becoming "stuck" in the responses to those events, as if they were occurring in the present moment. The essence of trauma is therefore, a disconnection from self and from others, causes by how trauma affects the totality of the human experience. Trauma, especially when experienced early in life (developmental and relational), leads to adaptation, and it is in the way that we distort our sense of self and the sense of others in adapting to trauma that the difficulties that we experienced on a day to day basis arise.
Such adaptive difficulties affect the brain, mind and body; however, it is the body (our physiology) that is most affected by trauma and often is neglected in psychotherapy treatments. Many approaches to treating trauma aim to correct faulty cognitions and/or try to access and express emotional content, leaving the body bereft of the attention it deserves as the bearer of most of the traumatic experience. If the body is not included in trauma renegotiation, the effectiveness of any method used is likely to be short lived.
Such adaptive difficulties affect the brain, mind and body; however, it is the body (our physiology) that is most affected by trauma and often is neglected in psychotherapy treatments. Many approaches to treating trauma aim to correct faulty cognitions and/or try to access and express emotional content, leaving the body bereft of the attention it deserves as the bearer of most of the traumatic experience. If the body is not included in trauma renegotiation, the effectiveness of any method used is likely to be short lived.
Thank you so much for the somatic session. Yes, it went deep and was fascinating to replay the scenario but in the stronger physiological place. I actually felt like I could respond in a stronger emotional place - it’s amazing how it works! (Melanie G.)
Somatic Experiencing®
Being caught in trauma narrative prevents us from becoming free of trauma itself
Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is a body awareness oriented (“bottom-up”) approach for the treatment of stress and trauma. It is a naturalistic, psycho- biological method for resolving trauma symptoms and relieving chronic stress by re-establishing the natural ability to self regulate. This approach helps to build resilience and enhances the individual’s capacity to have new bodily experiences, those that contradict the previous traumatic ones of fear, overwhelm and helplessness. In addition, the SE approach releases traumatic shock, often locked in muscles and body tissues.
SE offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, freeze, or collapse responses, and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated and repetitive psycho-physiological triggers. Through contacting primal sensations that support core autonomic self-regulation and coherence, Somatic Experiencing allows the body to speak its mind. In doing this, the processing moves upwards from these core sensations, towards feeling/emotions and ultimately cognitions. This way both mind and body are given an equal place in a new integrative treatment of trauma.
SE offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, freeze, or collapse responses, and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated and repetitive psycho-physiological triggers. Through contacting primal sensations that support core autonomic self-regulation and coherence, Somatic Experiencing allows the body to speak its mind. In doing this, the processing moves upwards from these core sensations, towards feeling/emotions and ultimately cognitions. This way both mind and body are given an equal place in a new integrative treatment of trauma.