Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing®
WHAT IS SOMATIC EXPERIENCING?
Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) is a body-oriented therapeutic approach to trauma healing developed by Dr. Peter Levine. Drawing from his observation of how animals in the wild naturally discharge stress and trauma responses, Dr. Levine developed SE as a framework for helping human beings complete the biological survival responses that become frozen in the nervous system following overwhelming experiences.
Unlike talk-based therapies that focus primarily on the narrative of what happened, Somatic Experiencing works with the body’s own wisdom — tracking physical sensations, impulses, and nervous system states to help clients gradually discharge the residual energy of traumatic experiences. This process, when done carefully and at the right pace, allows the nervous system to return to a regulated, resilient baseline.
SE is not about re-living or re-telling traumatic experiences. It is a gentle, titrated process that works with small amounts of sensation at a time — allowing healing to happen without overwhelm.
HOW SE WORKS
The science behind SE.
Trauma may begin as acute stress from a perceived life-threat or as the end product of cumulative stress. Both types can impair a person’s ability to function with resilience and ease. SE addresses the root cause of trauma symptoms by facilitating the completion of self-protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body.
The freeze response.
Dr. Levine discovered that trauma has to do with the freeze response — when fight and flight are not options, we freeze and immobilize. This reaction is designed to be time-sensitive, but if the immobility phase isn’t complete, that charge stays trapped. SE works to release this stored energy and turn off the threat alarm that causes dysregulation and dissociation.
A titrated, gradual process.
SE works by gently guiding clients to develop increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions — never overwhelming the system, always working at the pace the nervous system can integrate. This titrated approach is what makes SE both safe and effective for complex trauma presentations.
WHAT SE ADDRESSES
• Post-traumatic stress and complex trauma
• Developmental and attachment trauma
• Anxiety, hypervigilance, and a persistent sense of unsafety
• Chronic tension, fatigue, numbness, or somatic symptoms without clear medical cause
• Disconnection from the body or emotional experience
• Chronic stress and burnout from sustained high performance
• Nervous system dysregulation affecting relationships and work performance
• Incomplete recovery from accidents, medical procedures, or physical injury
WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS
SE has been clinically applied for more than four decades and is grounded in a multidisciplinary intersection of physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics. It is recognized by Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) and taught in professional training programs globally. Research continues to grow supporting SE’s effectiveness for PTSD, developmental trauma, and physiological aspects of stress-related disorders.
A NOTE ON PACING
SE is a gradual, titrated process by design — meaning the work moves at the pace the nervous system can integrate, not the pace the mind might prefer. Clients who approach SE with patience and genuine curiosity experience the most lasting results.
HOW VICTORIA USES SOMATIC EXPERIENCING
Victoria integrates Somatic Experiencing into her trauma-informed work as a foundational layer of body-based healing. Because trauma lives in the body — not just in the mind or the memory — somatic work allows Victoria to address the physiological dimension of trauma that cognitive approaches alone cannot reach.
In couples and family therapy, Victoria draws on somatic principles to help partners recognize how unresolved relational injuries are held in the body — the tension that rises before an argument, the shutting down that happens mid-conversation, the physical sense of unsafety that lingers long after a rupture.
Somatic Experiencing is also a core modality within the Intimacy & Healing Intensive, where body-based work is essential for healing sexual trauma, restoring arousal capacity, and rebuilding a safe, embodied relationship with desire and intimacy.
Victoria holds certificate through Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and integrates attachment-based approaches to ensure healing is integrated across the body, mind, and relational self.
The SE Program includes:
a 2-hour Assessment ($600)
four bi-weekly 2-hour Processing Sessions ($600 per session, $2,400 total)
a 1-hour Post-Program Follow-Up ($300)
Sessions are billed individually as scheduled.
Total Program Investment: $3,300
“The body knows what happened long before the mind finds the words. Somatic work taught me to listen to that knowing — to treat the nervous system not as a bystander in healing, but as the primary site of it.” — Victoria Griffin, LPC
Learn More
The following resources are provided for those who want to explore Somatic Experiencing in greater depth. These links open external websites and are not affiliated with Resiliency Counseling.
Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) — The official home of SE training, research, and practitioner directory
Dr. Peter Levine — Foundation for Human Enrichment — Founded by SE developer Dr. Peter Levine — resources and research
Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine — The foundational book on Somatic Experiencing — accessible for non-clinicians