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Developed by American psychologist Dr Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is a body-oriented approach to trauma healing and resolution work. Dr Peter Levine was struck by how animals in the wild do not seem to suffer the effects of trauma and stress in the same way as humans do. Hunted prey that manage to escape naturally shake and discharge survival energy. Humans on the other hand often respond in a way whereby unresolved survival energy may become bound in the body which can result in a wide range of emotional, physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms; from anxiety, to depression to numbness, hypersensitivity, chronic fatigue, to symptoms that do not appear to initially make sense, just to name a few. I like Kimberly Ann Johnson’s way of describing trauma; ‘the scratches in the records of our nervous systems.’ Trauma is ‘what happens when the needle skips on the record at the same place every time; the needle can’t make the full revolution, so you can’t hear the uninterrupted song.’ Trauma narrows our vision and shrinks our capacity. It is too much, too fast, too soon. SE® works with the body's innate capacity for healing, coherence and self-regulation, expanding our capacity to meet and be with the spectrum of pleasure and pain. During a session, through a process of careful listening called tracking, you are supported in renegotiating trauma. We work through a process of titration, piece by piece, in supporting the nervous system to regulate. As this held energy is given space to release and discharge, the ripple effect on the whole system is tangible. Intense survival energy often keeps our nervous system in states of hypoarousal (freeze) or hyperarousal (stress/ fight/flight). Over time, and through ongoing space for discharge and renegotiation, practiced and held in a supportive space, symptoms often diminish, a renewed sense of aliveness, and a deepened intimate listening and trusting of the organic intelligence of our animal body is more lived. My approach is one which holds a deep respect for the transgenerational and intergenerational field we exist within, and the ancestral threads and stories that are interwoven in our bones. This earth-giving work offers us an experience to drop beneath the narrative. I integrate SE®, Touch work, Voice work and Gestalt psychotherapy where appropriate. I am a fully certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner certified through SOSI Internationale, and have been assisting on the training.