According to Dr. Peter A. Levine, a pioneering researcher and practitioner of trauma healing, “Trauma is about loss of connection – to ourselves, to our bodies, to our families, to others, and to the world around us.” Trauma is not equal to the event, which can be as seemingly trivial as a minor traffic accident, or as clearly life-altering as a catastrophic natural disaster. Trauma resides in our nervous system and must be addressed at that to be renegotiated. Our symptoms, such as depression, anger, and anxiety, are messages from our bodies, asking us to pay attention. Trauma is an everyday fact of life and yet provides an amazing opportunity for transformation.
Dr. Levine developed a naturalistic approach to healing trauma known as Somatic Experiencing® (SE), which originated from his observation that wild animals, although routinely threatened, are rarely traumatized. Through his studies, Dr. Levine found that human beings possess the same innate capacity to heal as do animals. In our natural state, our nervous systems flow through rhythmic cycles of expansion and contraction. Somatic Experiencing® can help restore these natural, healthful patterns, which can become disrupted through incomplete processing of traumatic activation.
The successful reintegration of traumatic experiences allows us to function at an even higher level of awareness and engagement with the world and people around us.
I combine psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing®, and other mind/body techniques for an outcome that is more effective than talk therapy alone.
