SOMATIC EXPERIENCING THERAPY
When talking isn’t enough and your body is asking to be heard.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a gentle, body-based approach to healing anxiety, trauma, and chronic stress. Rather than focusing only on thoughts or memories, this work centers on how your nervous system responds — and how your body holds what you’ve been through.
Because trauma and stress don’t just live in the mind. They live in the body.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in anxiety, easily overwhelmed, shut down, or constantly on edge despite “knowing better,” Somatic Experiencing offers another way forward — one that doesn’t require reliving or retelling everything you’ve endured.
What Is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing is a trauma-informed therapy developed to help the nervous system return to balance after stress or trauma. It works by gently bringing awareness to physical sensations — the subtle cues your body uses to signal safety, danger, tension, or relief.
In sessions, we move slowly and intentionally, tracking sensations like breath, muscle tension, temperature, and movement. This allows your nervous system to release stored survival energy and learn that it’s safe to settle again.
This is not about pushing through. It’s about listening.
How Somatic Experiencing Helps
Regulates the Nervous System
SE helps calm the fight-flight-freeze responses that keep anxiety and trauma symptoms active. Over time, your system learns how to shift out of survival mode and into rest, connection, and ease.
Builds a Felt Sense of Safety
Rather than “convincing” yourself you’re safe, SE helps you feel safe in your body — a critical piece of lasting healing.
Releases Stored Tension
Stress and trauma often show up as tight muscles, shallow breathing, or chronic pain. Gentle movement and awareness help your body complete responses it never got to finish.
Supports Trauma Integration
SE allows trauma to be processed without overwhelm. We don’t relive events — we work with what’s happening now in your body, at a pace your system can handle.
Creates Long-Term Self-Regulation
You’ll learn tools to recognize early signs of stress and respond with grounding, regulation, and self-support — not panic or shutdown.
Who Somatic Experiencing Is For
SE can be especially helpful if you:
Live with anxiety, panic, or chronic stress
Feel disconnected from your body or emotions
Have trauma you don’t want to verbally revisit
Are highly sensitive or easily overwhelmed
Feel “stuck” despite insight or talk therapy
Want gentle, sustainable healing
You don’t need to be in crisis. You just need curiosity and a willingness to listen inward.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Somatic Experiencing does not require you to describe or relive traumatic events. We focus on present-moment sensations and regulation, allowing healing to happen without re-traumatization.
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That’s okay — and very common. SE is especially helpful for people who feel disconnected or unsure how to notice sensations. We build this awareness gently and gradually.
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Not exactly. While SE may include gentle movement or awareness, it’s a clinical therapeutic approach guided by a trained therapist and tailored to your nervous system.
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Yes. SE is highly effective for anxiety, overwhelm, and stress, even when there’s no identifiable trauma. It helps your nervous system learn how to settle and self-regulate.
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Sometimes — but not always. Emotions may arise naturally, but the work is paced so you don’t become overwhelmed. The goal is safety, not intensity.
