I am an Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, which means I have completed a 3-year long certification program in Somatic Experiencing® (SE). SE is a trauma treatment approach based on research of the human (mammalian) nervous system and how our nervous system negotiates potentially traumatic events. Most of the time, in a traumatic event, the nervous system begins to make decisions for us, which is to say, it operates at a level below conscious thought. The goal is to keep us alive and safe as possible, and, if we are still here, then it worked! However, depending on the nature of the trauma or trauma response, we may be left with a dysregulated nervous system. Remember, our brain's primary concern is survival, not happiness.

When our nervous systems are dysregulated, they have a very hard time finding balance and our capacity to deal with big - or even little - stressors in everyday life diminishes. This effect can show up in our  lived experience in various ways, such as : "Man, I just can't ever seem to feel rested; I wake up still tired and drag myself through the day" or "I'm so jumpy; every unexpected sound makes me startle" or "I don't feel like being around people like I used to; I just wish I could go in a cave" or "Ever since that [traumatic thing], I just don't feel like myself and I get sick more often (or I've developed a chronic condition)" or "I feel like I'm stuck [or shut down/can't function the way I used to]" and the examples could go on...

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Somatic therapy aims to help the entire nervous system become more regulated, coherent, and balanced. From a more regulated state, the body and mind have more access to internal and external resources that promote physical and mental health. From a more regulated state, there is more capacity to handle the kinds of unpredictable events that we will inevitably encounter throughout life. When we are traumatized, we are alive, yes, but we are not able to fully live. SE provides a beautiful roadmap for us to find our way back to our full humanity, to help us get "unstuck" from our trauma, and live as rich and rewarding of a life as possible.

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To learn more about SE, click here.