Somatic Experiencing® and trauma therapy

By Adelina Rotaru, Trauma Psychotherapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner

In recent years, the term “somatic” has gained increasing popularity in psychotherapy and personal development circles. However, not all somatic practices promoted on social media are authentically grounded in trauma therapy or based on scientific understanding. Somatic Experiencing® (SE), developed by Dr. Peter Levine, is a scientifically grounded therapeutic method that helps the body process trauma and restore its natural balance.

I discovered this method over six years ago, during a period when I had already been seeking deep, body-based approaches for some time. SE offered me a clearer understanding of how trauma is stored in the nervous system, and provided a gentle yet profound way to work with it. I enrolled in the training, and since then, this journey—though filled with healing and growth—has also brought its challenges.

As I learned about trauma, the nervous system, and stress, I came to realize how much my own body had endured. I understood how much dysregulation I had been carrying and faced the pain I had long ignored. Fortunately, because of SE’s gentle nature, I had the space to move at my own pace, integrating what emerged step by step, without force.

For me, SE was not just a method I studied—it was something I experienced firsthand. That’s why I chose to become a certified SE Practitioner, and later, I assisted in training other practitioners to deepen my understanding. Today, SE remains an essential part of my therapeutic work.

In this article, I want to offer a clear explanation of what Somatic Experiencing is, how it works, and how it differs from other somatic approaches.

What is Somatic Experiencing?

Somatic Experiencing is a therapeutic method developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine to address symptoms of stress, shock, and trauma that accumulate in the body and nervous system. This approach focuses on how trauma manifests within the autonomic nervous system and how this dysregulation affects an individual’s life. When we remain stuck in fight, flight, or freeze patterns, SE helps release those survival energies, supporting recovery and resilience.

SE is the result of Dr. Levine’s lifelong work, drawing from his multidisciplinary studies in areas such as stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, along with over 45 years of successful clinical application.

How Did Somatic Experiencing® Emerge?

Peter Levine began developing SE after working with a client named Nancy, who was suffering from panic attacks, chronic fatigue, muscle pain, and other unexplained physical symptoms. During a session, Nancy entered a state of extreme panic and total freeze. Levine invited her to imagine escaping from a tiger. Her body began to tremble and mimic running motions, releasing pent-up survival energy.

This experience led Levine to study wild animals, observing how they release survival energy through shaking and movement—preventing trauma. Humans, however, often remain stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses, which results in lingering symptoms.

This insight was foundational to the development of Somatic Experiencing, which helps the body complete these biological responses and return to a natural rhythm.

How the Nervous System Responds to Trauma

According to Levine’s research, when we perceive danger, the body enters an automatic cycle of activation and discharge. If this cycle is interrupted, trauma becomes “trapped” in the nervous system.

Stages of the threat response:

• Alarm – increased vigilance and muscle tension
• Orientation – scanning for the source of danger
• Fight or Flight – the body mobilizes for escape
• Freeze – if escape is impossible, the body enters a freeze state, an ancient survival mechanism
• Discharge – trembling or movement releases tension
• Return to balance

If discharge doesn’t occur, survival energy remains stuck in the nervous system, leading to chronic symptoms. Traumatized individuals may experience flashbacks, anxiety, depression, or overreactions to stimuli that trigger the unfinished survival response.

Levine emphasizes that trauma is not caused by the event itself, but by the survival energy that becomes trapped when instinctual responses are not completed.

Traumatic Memory

Traumatic memories are fundamentally different from ordinary memories, which are flexible and evolve over time. Traumatic memories are static, rigid, and deeply imprinted in the brain, body, and psyche. They do not adapt to present information, keeping the person locked in outdated survival strategies and preventing them from living in the present.

During trauma, the brain and nervous system enter extreme survival states, altering the way memories are processed and stored. Unlike regular memories, which are integrated into a coherent story, traumatic memories are fragmented and stored as sensations, emotions, and reflexive reactions.

For instance, a car accident survivor might feel panic, heart palpitations, and an urge to flee upon smelling gasoline. These are not narrative memories but are relived as physical and emotional responses. The more a person tries to suppress them, the more overwhelming they become, impairing daily functioning.

Trauma can also lead to unconscious reenactments. Someone abused in childhood may be drawn to dangerous relationships, while a war veteran may seek adrenaline through high-risk jobs. These behaviors reflect a trauma-driven cycle of repetition and suffering.

Traumatic memories often resurface involuntarily, disrupting life during both waking and sleeping hours. Flashbacks, compulsions, and obsessive thoughts trap the person in a seemingly endless loop of distress.

To heal, these memories must be processed and integrated into a coherent narrative, enabling a sense of resolution and peace. This rebalancing allows for clearer perception and renewed vitality.

Research shows that after trauma, the brain strengthens associations between sensory cues (e.g., sounds or images) and threat, while weakening the episodic memory of the event itself. This shift, especially during sleep, may explain memory dysfunctions in PTSD.

In PTSD, traumatic memories are not processed like other memories. While sad or neutral memories are stored and retrieved coherently, traumatic memories remain fragmented and disorganized, contributing to symptoms like flashbacks and intense anxiety.

Comparison of ordinary vs. traumatic memory:

• Ordinary memory – coherent, organized, chronological, and consciously accessible
• Traumatic memory – fragmented, non-linear, triggered by bodily sensations or cues

Traumatized individuals may experience:

• Involuntary flashbacks – feeling as if the event is happening again
• Intense somatic reactions – muscle tension, unexplained pain, shallow breathing
• Dissociation – numbness, detachment from reality or from the body

The body reacts as if the trauma is happening now, even though it occurred in the past. This creates intense somatic experiences without clear awareness of the event, leading to flashbacks, hyperarousal, or dissociation.

Working with Trauma in SE

SE does not rely on intense emotional reliving, but on titration—gradual, safe access to sensations, avoiding overwhelm or retraumatization. This allows the nervous system to complete stuck survival responses.

Core principles of SE include:

• The body as the center of healing – Trauma is not only psychological, but physiological. Healing begins by observing bodily sensations and allowing them to unfold at their own pace.
• Internal and external resources – The practitioner helps the client reconnect with inner safety, stability, and develop self-regulation tools.
• Titration and pendulation – SE accesses trauma in small doses. Unlike exposure-based therapies, SE uses pendulation—alternating between states of safety and controlled activation.
• Gradual discharge of trapped energy – The client is guided to notice subtle bodily responses (tension, trembling, breath changes) without overwhelm.
• Completion of defensive responses – The therapist facilitates corrective experiences where fight, flight, or freeze responses can be completed and integrated.

Nine Steps for Renegotiating Trauma in SE (Peter Levine)

These steps are not rigid or linear, but interconnected. However, the first three must be followed in sequence to ensure a solid psychobiological foundation:

1. Establish relative safety – Creating a space where the client feels safe enough to explore traumatic experiences
2. Initial awareness and acceptance of sensations – Supporting the client in noticing and accepting bodily sensations
3. Pendulation and containment – Alternating between activation and calm to avoid overwhelm
4. Titration of difficult experiences – Introducing traumatic sensations in small, manageable doses
5. Offering corrective experience – Replacing passive responses (collapse, helplessness) with active, empowered ones
6. Uncoupling fear from immobility – Separating fear from freeze/collapse physiological responses
7. Resolving hyperactivation – Discharging survival energy to restore nervous system balance
8. Self-regulation and restoration of equilibrium – Strengthening the client’s ability to maintain calm alertness
9. Orientation to the present and social engagement – Helping the client return to the present and reestablish relational safety

What Makes Somatic Experiencing® Unique?

In a time when somatic techniques are widely popularized, Somatic Experiencing® stands out for its scientific depth and trauma-informed approach. Many methods promote “shaking it out” or rapid energy release as a quick fix for stress. But these often disregard key nervous system principles like titration and pendulation, central to SE’s safety.

SE does not push for emotional catharsis or intense reliving of trauma. Instead, it follows a gentle, structured process where the body is allowed to complete its blocked responses safely. Through mindful awareness of sensations, the practitioner supports the client in gradually accessing trapped energy and restoring self-regulation.

Unlike approaches focused only on expressive release, SE offers deep integration, helping the body complete incomplete fight/flight/freeze responses.

This approach, developed by Peter Levine, sees the body not as an obstacle but as an essential ally in healing. Rather than imposing standardized techniques, SE respects each person’s unique rhythm, offering space to regain inner safety, trust, and emotional autonomy.

SE is not just about reducing trauma symptoms—it helps people reconnect with their bodies, feel safe within themselves, and live more fully in the present. Through this method, healing becomes not only possible but sustainable, embodied, and integrated into daily life.

Conclusion

Somatic Experiencing® is more than a therapeutic method—it is a profound journey of reconnection with self, restoration of inner safety, and discovery of personal resilience.

If there is one essential lesson SE has taught me, it’s this: healing is not about force—it’s about listening, honoring your own pace, and trusting the body’s natural capacity to find balance.

Sources:

• Levine, P. A., & Maté, G. (2010). In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. North Atlantic Books.
• Levine, P. A. (2015). Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past. North Atlantic Books.
• Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books.
• Levine, P. A., & Kline, M. (2008). Trauma-Proofing Your Kids. North Atlantic Books.
• Van der Kolk, B. (2015). The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin Books.
• Nature Communications (2024). Trauma, Fear, and Memory.
• Psychiatrist.com (2024). Trauma and Memory Processing.
• Yale News (2023). Brain Activity in Traumatic Memory.
• ScienceDirect (2024). The Effects of Trauma on Memory.