As some of you know I am at the end of the first year of my 3 year training in becoming a Trauma Therapist – or as I will officially be called one day; A Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. This is work that can be done on the massage table and easily incorporated into bodywork sessions. It is also work that can be done in a separate seated session, as in some therapeutic settings, or it can be a combination of both. I will not be stopping my regular massage sessions, but rather will be adding this choice of specific therapy to my practice. I also hope to be able to work in the larger community, with certain groups that can benefit from trauma work, such as: victims of abuse and violence or survivors of natural disasters. Many SE Practitioners work in their own communities as well as travel to parts of the world to assist in these circumstances.

Most of us have had some kind of brush with trauma. We have had accidents, or have experienced shocking circumstances or medical problems of varying degrees. Many have been touched by personal loss, or familial troubles such as death, addiction or divorce. Some have been directly affected by violence or abuse.

Here’s what Dr. Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing, says about Trauma:
“Trauma is the most avoided, ignored, denied, misunderstood, and untreated causes of human suffering. When I use the word trauma here, I am talking about the often debilitating symptoms that many people suffer from in the aftermath of perceived life-threatening or overwhelming experiences.”

It is possible to have symptoms from traumatic experiences and not make connection to the traumatic event itself. Other times it is more obvious.

Although it is possible to have symptoms without trauma, it is not at all common to have trauma without symptoms. Here are some symptoms that have been found to be correlated to trauma as described in Peter Levine’s book, “Healing Trauma”:

Being on guard all the time, or Hyper-vigilance
Flashbacks or intrusive thoughts
Sensitivity to Light
Exaggerated emotional responses
Nightmares or sleeping difficulties
Abrupt mood swings
Shame and lack of self worth
Reduced ability to deal with stress
Panic or anxiety attacks
Avoidance behavior (of people, memories, movements, activities, places)
Attraction to dangerous situations
Addictive behaviors
Fears about death or dying
Chronic Fatigue or very low physical energy
Immune system and some endocrine system problems such as thyroid malfunction and environmental sensitivities
Headaches, migraines, neck and back problems
Chronic pain
Fibromyalgia
Asthma
Skin disorders
Digestive problems
Severe menstrual issues
Depression
Feelings of detachment, alienation, isolation (“living dead” feelings)
Reduced ability to formulate plans.

The good news is that we are amazingly capable creatures. Our bodies have an intuitive and lawful capacity to heal from trauma. Our resiliency is staggeringly pure, and healing is completely possible.

SE is a very, very, very non-invasive therapy. It does not utilize any techniques that rehash or re-experience trauma again, to heal it. SE is exclusively about letting the body complete what it didn’t get to complete when originally traumatized. In this way it is a “renegotiation of trauma”. This is done through the practitioner’s combining a scientific understanding of the physiology of the nervous system and brain, with an artful attunement to the client’s subtle body movements and gestures that are unconsciously protecting or inadvertently continuing the trauma’s activation patterns.
A bonus to the client is the development of stronger boundaries, stronger felt/sense capacity, and stronger contact, love, kindness and relationship with the body. A client can learn about their body’s limits, and develop a greater communication system between body and soul; something that often gets lost in any kind of trauma. It can also heal the often debilitating and tenacious symptoms from trauma. This is perhaps the most liberating aspect of SE.

Stay tuned! Next month I will post a slightly more in depth description of SE along with a mock session as a preliminary description to help you get a glimpse of how it works…..

Until then,
Blessings and be well,

Dianne