Somatic Experiencing

   Somatic experiencing is a short-term body-oriented psychotherapy designed to relieve traumatic stress (PTSD).  Traumatic stress can occur as a result of a single event like a car accident or assault, or as the cumulative outcome of multiple traumatic experiences such as repeated neglect, abuse, or abandonment.

   People who experience traumatic stress feel disconnected from themselves and from the world around them.  They are often insensitive to their own needs and have difficulty engaging with others or feeling pleasure.  Symptoms can include physical pain, problems thinking or concentrating, or mood disturbance such as anxiety and depression.  There is also dysregulation of the neurobiological systems of the body, leading to poor sleep, cardiac, and gastrointestinal problems.

   Somatic experiencing works with the “here and now?symptoms a person is experiencing, including physical sensations, body memories, images, and feelings.  In somatic experiencing therapy, these sensations are felt, tracked, observed, and anchored in the body.  As a person’s tolerance of bodily sensations is expanded, states of high arousal and intense emotion are reduced.  The person learns to effectively self-regulate emotional states.  Their capacity for relating and engaging returns, and they are better able to move forward with their lives.