What is Somatic Experiencing?

It is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. Developed by trauma therapist Peter A. Levine, PhD, the SE™ approach has more than 50 years of successful clinical application, and is changing the approach to therapy by addressing the sensations in the body that fuel our habits, patterns, thoughts and behaviors.

It is used to help people suffering from issues related to trauma and abuse, stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and other mental health issues. It can also be helpful for those suffering from chronic pain, digestive disorders, and other medical conditions.

How does Somatic Experiencing work?

Defined as a body first or “bottom up” approach to dealing with trauma, SE helps clients experience sensations in their bodies such as fear, anger, sadness or overwhelm by objectively “noticing” them. By noticing and giving our attention to these feelings, SE™ allows us to tap into the root cause of trauma symptoms as we learn to face and feel uncomfortable sensations that we normally avoid or suppress. Once we can feel these undesirable feelings, the body can start to release some of the energy attached to them. This lessens the intensity of the emotion while helping the client to develop increased tolerance for them at the same time.

Have there been any randomized controlled studies of Somatic Experiencing?

Yes. Somatic Experiencing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Outcome Study was published in 2017 in the Journal of Traumatic Stress. The three-year study was conducted by the Herzog Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma (ICTP) together with the International Trauma‐Healing Institute (ITI).  In what was the first randomized controlled study of SE™, it was found to be an “effective treatment for PTSD.” 

Have there been any studies related to its use for chronic pain?
 
Yes. A randomized controlled trial of brief Somatic Experiencing for chronic low back pain and comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms was published in 2017 in the European Journal of Psychotraumatogoly. The study concluded that “A brief Somatic Experiencing intervention in addition to treatment as usual was found to have a significant effect on post-traumatic stress disorder and kinesiophobia compared to treatment as usual alone. The results are promising when taking into consideration the complexity of the sample and the effect being present at the 12-month follow-up.” Kinesiophobia is a form of pain-related fear that is proven to be a predictor of ongoing disability in those with persistent pain and is more predictive than pain intensity or structural findings (Vlaeyen, Crombez, & Linton, 2016; Vlaeyen, Haazen, Schuerman, Kole-Snijders, & van Eek, 1995; Waddell, Newton, Henderson, Somerville, & Main, 1993).

To learn more about Somatic Experiencing, the Alternative Pain Treatment Directory spoke with Leslie Gould-Barkman, LCSW, LMT of Ladybug Mind Body Healing. In addition to somatic experiencing, Leslie incorporates various holistic therapies including energy medicine and hypnotherapy into her practice. She sees patients both in her office in her West Hatfield, Massachusetts office as well as virtually. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

I was a massage therapist for 13 years, and I decided to go back to school to get a master’s degree in social work. I got my master’s degree in 2017 and worked as a crisis clinician for two years. Because I have a background in the arts and an interest in spirituality, I approach my work from a holistic “creative healer” perspective versus a typical mainstream psychotherapist perspective. I believe that suppressed and uncomfortable emotions are what cause us to repeat negative patterns and behaviors in our lives, and can even influence our health. Given the power of emotions to affect us so profoundly on a mental, physical and energetic level, they are often the missing puzzle piece that can lead us away from pain and towards balance, resolution and healing.

What is the focus of your practice?

Somatic experiencing is the basis of everything that I do in my practice. When working with clients, I’m always asking “What do you notice in your body?” That’s how you know that you are working with a somatic experiencing practitioner because they are going to ask you that question often, and in many different ways. Every time we address what we are feeling using curiosity and our senses, we are beginning to speak the body’s language. As we follow or “track” these sensations we bypass our thinking minds and allow the body to guide us towards root causes and healing. It’s as if the body is taking our hand and saying, ‘here is the problem.’ In other words, it’s not about thinking about it. It’s about using our curiosity, imagination and willingness to “feel our feelings” and following them where they lead.

What does it accomplish for a client to explain what they are feeling?

It allows the body to process the feelings that came up when talking about trauma or stressors by releasing some of the trapped, unresolved energy connected to the experience. The body knows exactly how to do this by processing it and metabolizing it, which is a more effective approach than thinking or talking about it alone. This takes some of the power and potency out of these highly charged triggers and makes them more manageable. It’s not that we won’t feel sadness from painful memories, it’s only difficult when these strong emotions take us over and hijack us. What we learn is that if we just notice and follow these feelings, the body will eventually process them and release them from our body in an incremental and thorough way. 

Can Somatic Experiencing be helpful to individuals suffering from chronic pain?

Yes. Emotional and physical pain run on the same neuropathways, and there is an emotional component to pain that western medicine often doesn’t acknowledge.   As I mentioned earlier, emotions are often the missing puzzle piece. That can be true for physical ailments because beliefs, stuck ideas, and repeating patterns all represent energy that is not getting out. It blocks the flow, and becomes an obstacle that can stand in the way of a healthier, happier and more peaceful life. Emotions have energy that are stored within our bodies and can lead to physical symptoms including pain or disease. If we don’t release this energy, it can really wreak havoc in our lives. Emotions can have a lot of power over people, and many people are afraid of these emotions. And ironically, the more we suppress these emotions, the stronger they get. 

Can you give us example of how you have used Somatic Experiencing to help a client suffering from chronic pain?

As you mentioned earlier, kinesiophobia is “a form of pain-related fear that is proven to be a predictor of ongoing disability in those with persistent pain.” Somatic Experiencing would be the way to reduce or eliminate that fear because is that fear that keeps us stuck in pain patterns of restricted mobility or immobility. Therefore, it becomes an avenue to explore and as we do, fear is released and so is the pattern that’s been holding it there. This is an essential component to any physical healing which makes Somatic Experiencing a perfect complement to other hands-on therapies.

I had a client who sustained a complex back injury that affected her legs and feet as well. In order to adjust to the injury, her legs and feet were forced to create a strange pattern to allow her to stand and walk, albeit with discomfort. For years she had seen physical therapists, chiropractors, and other bodyworkers who helped her structurally, but she was still unable to resolve the issue. She knew there was more to it. The accident by the way, had also happened during a traumatic and turbulent time of her life which we discovered had become “baked in” to the injury. 

In addition, after years of being in pain and having to make a multitude of accommodations for herself in order to stand and even sit, she developed a fear of trying anything new in order to protect herself. She had created a pattern of protective behavior based on the fear of doing anything to exacerbate her symptoms. One wrong move and she’d be in pain, or at least that’s what she told herself.

One leg, was like the soldier. Strong but inflexible, and the other felt like it was barely there according to the client. She said she couldn’t feel the connection from the ground, up through her leg to her hips and back. This disconnection meant she really only had “one leg to stand on”. It was as if she had “no support”, a theme that has come up repeatedly in her life, including the period prior to the accident. 

As we worked together other revelations helped the client connect to her actual experience of “not feeling supported in life” which opened the doors for the deeper emotional healing. Now that she understood the deeper meaning, we began to work with her legs and back by communicating with them. In Somatic Experiencing we often talk to body parts and our wounded inner children, and send them love, compassion, acceptance and encouragement. This creates a relationship with the wounded parts, that we often reject or avoid. Using our imagination and our five senses, we can create opportunities to really learn what these parts needed from us, which is often what we didn’t get in our lives, and give it to them.

This client’s condition improved as she released the fear and protective behaviors and worked through her feelings of not being supported, which positively influenced her life in many surprising ways. From this one injury, she was able to heal a lifetime of unresolved emotional pain, as the physical pain slowly subsided. Although her pain has subsided, she continues to see bodyworkers to further her healing and finds that she gets more out of it now that the emotional issues have been resolved.

When we use Somatic Experiencing as an accompaniment to medical care, we embark on a healing journey where injuries and pain become opportunities for growth and transformation. Our bodies sometimes communicate with us through pain. Somatic Experiencing gives us the language and tools we need to listen and respond to it’s needs, which is also a great way to connect with, honor and love our truest selves.

Is talk therapy a part of Somatic Experiencing?

Generally speaking, we are doing talk therapy but are incorporating somatic experiencing to get the most out of it. I see a lot of my clients weekly or bi-weekly, and the talking is the detective work part. It’s about gathering information and trying to get to the bottom of what’s really happening. Talking about it is always helpful, but if you only stay in your head and talk about your story, you are never going to get anywhere. You have to get to the subconscious, which is reflected in the body, because that is where all of the answers are. That’s where change happens. I’m not just looking for clients to develop coping skills, I am looking for healing. And the healing has to happen from the bottom up. 

What do you mean by the bottom up?

It used to be that therapy was top down—the head knows everything, and then the rest follows. But that isn’t true because it is the body that knows everything and then the mind learns from it. 

Why are emotions so important to Somatic Experiencing?

When we are able to take away some of the intensity of the feelings, it really helps to loosen the attachment to the trauma. We’re turning down the pressure, the volume, and the intensity of our relationship to the trauma. This helps to free you up because otherwise the trauma feels like it has its hands around your neck.  We want to loosen that grip.

Is Somatic Experiencing mostly utilized for trauma?

I would say yes, but everyone has trauma. It’s either ‘big T’ trauma’ or ‘little t’ trauma. Little t trauma may be a childhood where you never got much attention. Even if no major things happened, that’s still trauma.

What have you noticed since introducing Somatic Experiencing into your practice?

I’m noticing healing, softening, opening, expanding, and allowing. I’m noticing connection, connection, connection which is the most important thing. Often people who struggle with anxiety or other mental health issues are fearful of connecting with another person or even with themselves on a deeper level. They tend to protect instead of connecting. 

Have your clients been receptive to Somatic Experiencing?

Clients are incredibly open to it along with the energy work that I incorporate into my practice. People are looking for something different—something other than talking. A lot of people say that talk therapy hasn’t worked for them and that they want to go deeper. I know exactly what they mean because I’ve been through a ton of not so helpful therapy myself. That’s why I do what I do. 

Christine Graf is a freelance writer who lives in Ballston Lake, New York. She is a regular contributor to several publications and has written extensively about health, mental health, and entrepreneurship.