“The body keeps the score”
Such is the title of the book by Bessel Van Der Kolk, a psychiatrist specialized in post-traumatic stress disorder.
The body remembers our wounds, accidents, childhood traumas, all the times when we could not defend ourselves… If we can’t defend ourselves in a satisfactory way, our nervous system bears the mark of traumatic events. What we call trauma isn’t the event itself, but a consequence of the event.
When we are in a dangerous situation, our organism mobilizes tremendous amounts of energy to get us safely out. But if it can’t successfully defend us (by fleeing or fighting), this immense quantity of energy remains trapped in the body, with a multitude of physical consequences: chronic fatigue, anxiety, migraines, insomnia, brain fog, chronic illnesses & pain, digestive issues, hypersensitivity, concentration issues…
This is where Somatic Experiencing therapy can help. Created by Peter Levine, a trauma expert and psychotherapist, this body-mind therapy aims to resolve the symptoms of stress, shock and trauma accumulated in our body.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) helps us free ourselves of the traces left by trauma
in order to recover our natural energy and resilience.
How does a session go?
You do not relive the traumatic event; you won’t tell the whole story. SE is not a talk therapy.
First, we identify your ressources in order to regulate your nervous system and to feel and anchor a sense of safety in your body (during and beyond the session).
We learn how to (re)connect to physical sensations.
When your nervous system is ready, we work in very small bites on the trauma experience your body holds. The goal is to help your body complete its defense mechanisms, to liberate the stuck energy and to regain it for your day-to-day life.
You gently exit the permanent state of hypersensitivity, alert, fear or freeze (inability to do anything).
We slowly increase the resilience of your nervous system so that you can be in connection with others and adapt to the demands of live all the while respecting your system’s capacity.
Somatic Experiencing is for you if:
Your body speaks to you through different physical symptoms and you’d like to explore the link with your nervous system.
You are convinced that your body and your nervous system are a key part of your healing journey.
You have done therapy but your anxiety endures and you want to try another approach.
You are disconnected from your body and you would like to feel safe in it again.
You want to free yourself from the shadows of the past in order to make space for the present.
You don’t know whether you’ve experienced trauma, but you “just” want to feel better in your life.
You want to find more serenity, confidence, energy and capacity day-to-day.
