Somatic Experiencing

Negative thoughts take over a positive beginning.

It’s a beautiful day! A friend at work surprises you with a muffin and coffee.

Later that morning, you are in a team meeting, and your boss mentions a few recent problems with the project to which you are assigned. Where did that beautiful day go?

All you think about are the negative comments. Your day is now an ugly grey. Focus is gone; self-judgment kicks in. Anger and hurt take over.

You are stewing about the comments for days and days.

Why is it so hard to move past those events?

We are hard-wired for a negativity bias – looking for what can go wrong.

That’s not the whole story. If we didn’t have the needed support as a child when encountering overwhelming events, that lack of support could predispose us to be overly sensitive or reactive. We focus our attention on all the problems.

Even when surrounded by beauty – we see the danger. Negativity is a form of self–protection.

Traumatizing events in adulthood can have the same effect.

Life and the world seem bleaker and bleaker.

Trauma has many faces.

Rage: are you reacting to a friend’s or partner’s behavior or an unresolved event long ago? Life can seem too much, or you can’t feel anything. Some traumas can make everything seem overwhelming. Alternatively, you might decide to give up.

Fear, shame, and sadness influence your thinking and decision-making. Your startle response gets activated easily. Your radar for what is safe can become completely skewed.

Trauma can take a toll on your health and show up in your body as problems like fatigue, insomnia, and fibromyalgia.

There is a way to freedom.

Somatic Experiencing (SE) provides a healing path.

Studies show that SE is a highly effective technique for treating trauma.

SE, like talk therapy, addresses thoughts and emotions. The difference is that SE focuses on the language of the body – sensations and movements. These sensations help you process survival energy from traumatic events in small bites – allowing your body to release stuck energy.

You experience more energy. Where there once was bracing or clenching, now there is space and ease.

During this process, you have a compassionate witness present for support.

Let’s look at a typical SE session.

Our initial conversations in an SE session may focus on aspects of your life that work well. Think about times when you have experienced some neutrality, strength, or joy – when you felt the most yourself.

You tune into your body and notice where you feel strength or joy. What does that feel like to you? We will explore the sensations fully.

These are also ways to address that negativity bias and build resilience.

Once there is stability in the system, we explore events that provoke emotions and sensations that are a little more challenging. We always go slowly and in small, manageable chunks. You can dictate the pace.

These sessions help slow down life, allowing you to experience the state of “just being.”

Experience a new reality. To schedule a free 20-minute consultation, call me at (413) 949-9132 or complete the form below.