Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing is a specific approach to healing the impact of chronic stress and trauma on the nervous system. When you feel stuck, we have a way to help you move. When you feel out of control, we have a way to help you settle down. When you feel depleted, we have a way to access restorative rest.
In a session
We attend to immediate bodily experience. For example, if you tell me about a stressor that’s throwing you, I might ask if it feels like your mind is spinning, or jumping scatteredly from one thing to another, or something else. I might ask if it feels like an onslaught from in front or like being grabbed from behind, or something else. The act of turning your attention to the felt sense of these questions in your body begins to influence your response to the stressor. As you reflect, subtle changes in sensation, such as tightness or opening in your breath, or warmth or cold in your hands, tell us what is important and how to proceed. We investigate with precision and gentleness to find the moments when change is possible. Those moments are always there.
Somatic Experiencing can help with:*
- Injuries complicated by their emotional impact, such as those from assaults or motor vehicle accidents or those that compromise one’s livelihood or relationship
- Chronic conditions that are partly stress/nervous system mediated, such as autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Post Traumatic Stress
- Long-term impacts of early childhood trauma
*On its own or in combination with the other kinds of therapies I offer.
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions you might have.
