Somatic Experiencing Therapy in Boynton Beach
When most people hear the word “therapy,” they think of sitting on a couch and telling a counselor all about their emotions. But in reality, there are so many other therapeutic techniques that can help you heal. Somatic Experiencing therapy is a great example.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, Somatic Experiencing therapy tailors itself to your unique journey, including flexibility in the duration. Whether you need a few months to address specific issues or a longer-term commitment to heal deeper traumas, this body-oriented approach adapts to fit your needs.
At its core, this modality isn’t about talking—it’s about experiencing and releasing the hold that past trauma has on your body and mind, allowing for profound and lasting healing.
What is Somatic Experiencing Therapy?
Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy is a type of therapy that uses body-oriented techniques to help you process and recover from past trauma. It’s based on the idea that stress, trauma, and shock build up in our bodies over time and make it hard to navigate daily life.
Peter Levine, Ph.D. developed Somatic Experiencing therapy starting in the early 1970s. Driven by a desire to process his own past traumatic experiences, he quickly discovered that talk therapy alone was rarely enough to make a lasting difference in terms of healing.
Somatic Experiencing therapy took root starting with this realization. This modality relies on your body’s innate ability to recover and heal, harnessing the nervous system’s natural capacity to release built-up stress and trauma.
How Somatic Experiencing Therapy Can Help When Talk Therapy Doesn’t
You might be surprised to learn that you don’t just carry the weight of trauma in your mind. It’s also stored in your muscles, heart, lungs, digestive system, and nervous system.
This is why just talking about past events is often just not helpful or impactful for people dealing with mental health struggles. Talk therapy simply doesn’t address every symptom.
With Somatic Experiencing therapy, your therapist guides you in becoming more tolerant and aware of your suppressed emotions, defensive responses, and bodily sensations as they relate to your past experiences.
As you work through the trauma suppressed within you, your nervous system finally regains its sense of balance and safety. This, in turn, makes you feel more balanced and safe as you navigate the peaks and valleys of life.
Who Can Benefit from Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Some of the many struggles Somatic Experiencing therapy can help treat include:
- PTSD
- Trauma
- Phobias
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Anger issues
- Chronic pain
- Grief and loss
- Chronic fatigue
- Anxiety and stress
- Relationship issues
- Trauma-related behavioral issues
- Insomnia and sleep disturbances
If you’d like to speak with one of our Boynton Beach somatic therapists to learn more about whether this modality might be effective for you, please contact us at 561-316-6553.
What to Expect During a Somatic Experiencing Therapy Session
Here’s a very general overview of how each Somatic Experiencing session will go:
- Initial consultation. During the first session, you’ll ask any questions on your mind, cover the therapist’s privacy practices, and discuss your goals and history.
- Building rapport. Initially, your therapist will get to know you and how you like to communicate. It’s crucial that you both feel comfortable working together.
- Introduction to somatic awareness. Your therapist will talk through a few somatic techniques and teach you how to be aware of bodily sensations through simple activities.
- Noticing physical sensations. Once you start discussing past hurts and traumas, your therapist will help you take notice of physical sensations like tingling or restlessness. These sensations are your body’s way of telling you it’s holding onto trauma.
- Pendulation and titration. These are two key Somatic Experiencing techniques that help you slowly work through your trauma without getting overwhelmed or triggering PTSD symptoms.
- Finding and releasing tension. Your therapist will walk you through how to identify tension, and then release it with specific movements, gestures, or breathing exercises.
- Mindfulness and being present. Across every session, you’ll be supported in staying present and mindful rather than “checking out” or dissociating.
- Integrating and reflecting. Towards the end of each session, your therapist will help you see the throughlines of what you’ve experienced—how it relates to your past and present, plus any new perspectives you might have for the future.
- Planning for progress. Finally, you two will discuss next steps. You may have some homework in the form of practicing certain techniques on your own, or set tangible goals for future sessions.
Treat the Root Cause of Your Mental Health Struggles with a Boynton Beach Somatic Experiencing Therapist
The biggest thing to know about SE therapy is that it takes a “from the bottom up” approach, while talk therapy is more like “from the top down.”
What that means is that talk therapy starts with your mind and your thoughts. You start with facts, logic, and rationale, and use that to work through emotions and painful memories.
The thing is, many trauma survivors simply aren’t ready to—or can’t—immediately start telling their story. And that’s okay. With SE therapy, there’s quite a bit of work we can do together without diving into any details of your past.
If you’re ready to learn more about how Somatic Experiencing therapy can help you finally release the heavy emotional burden on your shoulders, please contact us here at Hawkins Counseling Center in Boynton Beach.
FAQs About Somatic Experiencing Therapy
What techniques are used during Somatic Experiencing therapy?
Techniques used during Somatic Experiencing therapy are body-focused, such as:
- Breathwork – Consciously focusing on your breathing to regulate your nervous system with guidance from your therapist
- Titration – Slowly talking about and remembering past traumas, including a discussion about how your body feels as you talk through the memory
- Pendulation – Alternating between focusing on a painful memory and a joyful one so you aren’t constantly mired in past trauma
You may feel more drained or vulnerable after a Somatic Experiencing therapy session versus traditional talk therapy. If you experience this, it’s a clear sign that you’re making real progress in releasing the trauma you’ve been carrying for far too long.
What research supports Somatic Experiencing therapy?
The current research supporting the effectiveness of Somatic Experiencing therapy includes:
This is just a small sampling of the many studies and trials focused on Somatic Experiencing therapy. While this is a newer modality compared to talk therapy, there’s already solid evidence showing it may be the key to true trauma recovery.
What questions should you ask a Somatic Experiencing therapist before starting?
A few smart questions to ask a Somatic Experiencing therapist before you get started are:
- What are your training and certifications as far as SE therapy? – Tells you whether the therapist has enough knowledge to effectively utilize this modality
- What’s your experience with applying SE therapy to challenges like mine? – Gives you insight into whether the therapist is familiar with the types of struggles you’re dealing with
- Do you integrate other modalities, and if so, what are they? – Allows you to get a clearer picture of what working with this therapist would really be like
If you’d like to discuss any of these questions with our Boynton Beach therapists, just contact Hawkins Counseling Center at 561-316-6553. With decades of experience, we look forward to helping you step into the life you deserve through the power of Somatic Experiencing therapy.
