What Makes Somatic Experiencing So Effective?
Somatic Experiencing (SE) has gained significant recognition as being an effective therapy for trauma and stress-related disorders. Somatic Experiencing – often referred to as SE - focuses on the connection between the mind and body. Individuals heal from traumatic experiences by engaging the body's natural healing mechanisms.
Embodied Awareness
Somatic Experiencing recognizes that trauma is not solely a psychological phenomenon but also a somatic one. Somatic is just a fancy word for ‘relating to the body’. SE emphasizes embodied awareness, encouraging individuals to pay attention to physical sensations, movements, and bodily responses. By doing so, SE helps individuals process and release stored trauma. This, it is believed, promotes a deeper sense of self-awareness and self-regulation.
Pendulation
Pendulation is a fundamental building block of Somatic Experiencing. It involves gently oscillating between sensations of safety and discomfort. This allows individuals to regulate their arousal levels. This process helps prevent overwhelming emotional and physical responses. By adding a sense of safety to the therapeutic process, SE enables individuals to explore and integrate their traumatic memories more readily and effectively.
Completing the Stress Response
SE recognizes that the body's natural response to trauma is what’s call a ‘survival mechanism’. However, in some cases, the response never reaches completion. This leaves individuals stuck in a state of hyperarousal or dissociation. Through SE, individuals are guided to complete the stress response. This process helps discharge the trapped energy associated a traumatic experience and restore the body's natural equilibrium.
Bottom-Up Approach
Traditional talk therapies often rely on cognitive processes to help deal with trauma. Somatic Experiencing takes a more ‘bottom-up’ approach, prioritizing the body's innate wisdom. By focusing on bodily sensations and impulses, SE accesses the subconscious and nonverbal aspects of trauma.
