Somatic Experiencing
What Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing (SE™) is a body-oriented therapeutic model for healing trauma and other stress disorders. It is based on a multidisciplinary intersection of physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter A. Levine.
The SE approach offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states. (adapted from taumahealing.org)
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Getting to know your nervous system is critical to overcoming pain, stress, anxiety, and other symptoms of overwhelm. In sessions informed by the Somatic Experiencing model, I’ll help you get out of your head and into your body so that you can learn to self-regulate.
This work can help you make the changes you want to see in yourself. Whether that is coping with stress, overcoming past traumas, ditching persistent pain, or simply becoming more mindful in everyday life. Let’s get curious!
I will help you reframe your mindset around your body and pain, share management tools, and teach you about nervous system health. My goal is to help you feel empowered and reach the goals we set together.
We will meet virtually for 1:1 sessions. We always work with what is alive for you in the moment. I’ll help you notice how your body is responding in the present moment in order to help you discover patterns and build awareness of your body and nervous system. We aren’t trying to change you. I’ll help you notice where you might be stuck in a stress response and offer ways to help you move through it.
We will gently dig deep, exploring how your nervous system came to be the way it is. That means getting curious about attachment wounds, trauma, and narratives about your body/self/health.
I am not a therapist. This program is not therapy and does not replace therapy.
What is the format?
Do I need to regulate my nervous system?
Dysregulation can show up as chronic pain, muscle tension, anxiety, depression, thyroid dysfunction, gastrointestinal distress, insomnia, fatigue, headache, etc. This is a brief explanation of why:
When we are overwhelmed by physical injury, threat to life, or chronic stress, our body protects us using innate strategies you may know as fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses. These can show up as alterations to movement, posture, and how we react to people and experiences.
Even when the physical injuries or stressors are gone, our responses to them can persist subconsciously for years.
These changes can show up as the symptoms described above, and many more disruptions to life. When this happens, it is necessary to help the body and mind register that the need for high levels of self-protection is gone, returning to equilibrium.
Somatic Coaching informed by the Somatic Experiencing model can help this process (aka self-regulation).
FAQ
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Your informed consent is the most important component of treatment.
Every body and nervous system is different. We all hold stress/trauma in different ways and areas of our bodies.
If you don’t want to continue with any portion of any session, please tell me know. I have many tools for this reason.
My goal is for you to feel safe and empowered in my treatment space.
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Yes!
My clinic is a space for the 2SLGBTQI+ community to feel safe and seen, but this does not exclude others looking for treatment.
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Wear whatever is comfortable for you.
Sessions may involve movement.
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No, you will not receive an insurance receipt for coaching sessions.
While my knowledge as an RMT informs all of my work and life, my Somatic Experiencing sessions are completely separate from RMT sessions.
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Please cancel or change your appointment with at least 24 hours notice.
If you cancel or reschedule less than 24 hours before your appointment, the credit card on file will be fully charged.
Please refer to the cancellation policy.