Somatic experiencing

Somatic Experiencing is a form of complementary therapy used to address trauma and stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). It focuses on sensations and experiences in the body when traumatic experiences are discussed or re-experienced. Somatic experiencing sessions can be led by psychotherapists and social workers, similar to traditional trauma therapies. However, yoga teachers, spiritual leaders, occupational therapists, and some coaches can also be trained in these methodologies and use them in their work when they encounter people dealing with trauma.

Somatic experiencing has limited and mixed empirical support, though more research is needed to determine when to use these methods as opposed to more traditional trauma therapy methodologies. While somatic experiencing has shown promise in initial tests, it is unknown exactly how effective it is or if it is more likely to be effective in certain situations. Anecdotally, many people tell stories of how somatic experiencing has helped them overcome trauma and live productively again. However, studies such as a 2021 review note that stronger randomized controlled trials are needed to better evaluate its effectiveness.

Background

Somatic experiencing was created by Peter Levine and is based on ideas about how emotion and stress are processed in the human body. It focuses on awareness of internal body signals, such as sensations related to balance, movement, and physical state. During stressful experiences, including trauma, the body releases hormones such as adrenaline. These amp up its reflexes and put it into a state where it can effectively fight or flee to escape stressors. However, these responses are more appropriate for an ancient world when people often faced threats such as wild animals and fires. These responses are not always appropriate in the modern world.

Fighting or fleeing used to be the best possible actions to take to avoid most of the threats people faced, so the human body evolved to enable people to do these. It was survival of the fittest, and the fittest were those who could get away from a threat or fight it off. Dealing with the stressor also enabled the body to return to normal. Adrenaline and other hormones energized the body; it did what it needed to do to survive, and then hormone levels returned to normal.

In the contemporary era, many stressors cannot be effectively handled by either fighting or fleeing. Stressors such as financial trouble, problems at work, and relationship challenges require more sophisticated solutions. However, the human body is still primed to respond physically. When adrenaline courses through the veins, that response is described in somatic experiencing as needing to be discharged. Otherwise, the body does not know that the stressful situation has ended, and it can return to normal.

Sometimes, people are under so much stress that they continually set off the body’s hormonal stress response without ever discharging it. Other times, traumatic events set off the response at a very high level. In these situations, the body struggles to return to normal because the overall stress response is too high for it to be able to discharge with everyday activities.

Somatic experiencing techniques aim to facilitate this discharge of stress and the energy that comes along with it, allowing the body to return to its original, relaxed state. According to somatic experiencing, when traditional methods of dealing with trauma do not work, it may be because they focus less on bodily sensations during treatment.

Overview

Somatic experiencing involves a variety of techniques that will be used based on exactly what the person is experiencing and the nature of their stress or trauma. One technique often used is bodily awareness. Since those who have experienced trauma or intense stress can become disconnected from their bodies, reconnecting with the body is thought to release and regulate emotions, as well as resolve physical ailments, like muscle tension, that the body has developed due to trauma or stress. Facilitators help patients understand how trauma and stress impact the nervous system and explain the physical sensations that may be experienced when in a state of stress. Patients are also taught to better understand their own bodies and physical responses and then connect these responses to their emotions. 

Another technique is known as pendulation. Like a pendulum, patients learn to swing back and forth between a traumatized or stressed state and a happy and calmer state, often while focusing on bodily sensations coupled with their emotions. Many facilitators will help people find calming or joyful moments or images ahead of time so that patients know what they are returning to when they experience too much stress. These can include memories, hopes for the future, or thoughts that bring calm and peace. Alternatively, some will also use objects in the room to ground the person. When the person senses that their body cannot tolerate any more stress or trauma, they allow their mind to swing back to these images or objects. This helps them gradually work with more stress and trauma because they know they can return to a safe place at any moment.

Somatic experiencing practitioners may also work to do what they call uncoupling. When someone is traumatized or under stress that does not relent, they may learn to attach a particular physical sensation or set of sensations to that experience. For example, a person who has experienced sexual assault may stop being able to sense certain parts of the body after being raped. Somatic experiencing works to help people find these sensations that are coupled with their stress or trauma and detach them. Thus, the person who has experienced sexual assault might learn how to stay connected to their body and physical sensations throughout a variety of circumstances, including sexual ones.

Some studies suggest that somatic experiencing may have positive benefits for both people diagnosed with PTSD and the rest of the population. However, because the techniques are relatively new, research is ongoing regarding when and if they are the best way to treat stress and trauma.

Critics of somatic experiencing argue that it is still largely unproven and note that more rigorous research and standardized methods are needed. Some also point to challenges such as differences in training methods and the need to better define how the therapy should be applied.

As somatic experiencing becomes more common and is studied more in-depth, its benefits and drawbacks should become clearer. However, its popularity is growing, and some claim that it has helped them overcome trauma.

Bibliography

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