What is Somatic Experiencing (SE)

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a pioneering, body-based therapeutic approach developed by Dr Peter Levine to support the healing of trauma, shock, and chronic stress. Rather than focusing solely on talking about past experiences, Somatic Experiencing works gently with the body and nervous system to resolve the physiological effects of overwhelm.

Somatic Experiencing is based on the understanding that trauma is not caused by the event itself, but by how the nervous system responds when it becomes overwhelmed and unable to complete natural survival responses. These responses can become “stuck” in the body, leading to symptoms such as anxiety, hypervigilance, shutdown, chronic stress, or emotional dysregulation.

How Does Somatic Experiencing Work?

Somatic Experiencing works by helping the nervous system safely release traumatic shock that has become ‘frozen’ in the body during moments of threat or overwhelm. This is done gradually and carefully, without re-traumatisation.

Through guided awareness of bodily sensations, breath, movement, and internal states, SE supports the completion of interrupted fight, flight, or freeze responses. As these responses resolve, the nervous system can return to a greater sense of regulation, stability, and ease.

Somatic Experiencing uses practical clinical tools to support this process, including:

• Nervous system tracking

• Titration (working in small, manageable steps)

• Pendulation between states of activation and safety

• Resourcing and stabilisation

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These tools help the body access its innate capacity for self-regulation and healing, the same biological processes that repair tissue, support immunity, and restore balance.

What Can Somatic Experiencing Help With?

Somatic Experiencing can be supportive for a wide range of experiences, including:

• Trauma and PTSD

• Developmental and early childhood trauma

• Chronic stress and burnout

• Anxiety and overwhelm

• Shock or medical trauma

• Long-term nervous system dysregulation

  
  

SE is particularly suited to people who feel “stuck” in patterns of fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown, or who have found that talking therapies alone have not fully addressed their symptoms.

Somatic Experiencing Therapy with Happy Me Somatic Therapy

As a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, I am deeply committed to supporting people in reconnecting with their bodies and gently regulating their nervous systems. My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and paced according to each individual’s capacity.

I offer a calm, non-judgemental, and supportive space where clients can develop greater self-awareness, explore emotional and bodily responses, and build practical tools for nervous system regulation. Somatic Experiencing is not about forcing change, but about allowing the body to complete what was once overwhelming, at a pace that feels safe and respectful.

At the heart of my work is the belief that healing happens through presence, safety, and attunement, not through pushing or reliving traumatic experiences.