Your body has been trying to finish something your mind has been trying to forget.
Stress, trauma, and entrenched patterns don't just live in memory. They live in the body — in muscle tension, automatic reactions, the way your nervous system braces before you've consciously registered a threat. Somatic Experiencing works with that layer directly.
WHAT IS SOMATIC EXPERIENCING
Developed by Dr. Peter Levine. Built on how the body naturally heals.
Somatic Experiencing was developed by Dr. Peter Levine after decades studying how animals recover from life-threatening experiences — and why humans often don't. The body is designed to discharge stress and restore balance after threat. But that process frequently gets interrupted by the pressure to function, to push through rather than process.
When that happens the nervous system stays stuck in activation — anxiety that won't quit, reactivity that surprises even you, numbness or disconnection that no amount of understanding seems to shift.
SE helps the body complete those unfinished responses. Not by revisiting the past in detail, but by working with what's happening in the body right now — sensations, tension, movement, breath — until the nervous system can finally settle.
WHAT HAPPENS IN SESSION
Feels slower than most therapy. More internal. Often surprisingly effective.
Somatic Experiencing was developed by Dr. Peter Levine after decades studying how animals recover from life-threatening experiences — and why humans often don't. The body is designed to discharge stress and restore balance after threat. But that process frequently gets interrupted by the pressure to function, to push through rather than process.
When that happens the nervous system stays stuck in activation — anxiety that won't quit, reactivity that surprises even you, numbness or disconnection that no amount of understanding seems to shift.
SE helps the body complete those unfinished responses. Not by revisiting the past in detail, but by working with what's happening in the body right now — sensations, tension, movement, breath — until the nervous system can finally settle.
"The goal isn't insight. It's restoration. Helping your system finally do what it's always been designed to do."
WHAT SOMATIC EXPERIENCING CAN HELP WITH
What chronic stress and unprocessed experience leave behind.
SE is particularly effective for what the nervous system holds long after the events themselves have passed:
• Trauma and PTSD — experiences still affecting present reactions and relationships
• Performance blocks — automatic physical responses interfering with trained skills
• Anxiety and hypervigilance — a persistent sense of threat without a clear source
• Burnout and chronic stress — a nervous system that no longer knows how to settle
• Compulsive patterns — urges driven by dysregulation rather than conscious choice
• Numbness and disconnection — going through the motions, difficulty feeling present
If your nervous system has been running in overdrive long enough that it no longer knows how to fully settle — Somatic Experiencing addresses that directly.
HOW SE AND BRAINSPOTTING WORK TOGETHER
Two approaches. One nervous system. Used together when the work calls for it.
Brainspotting and Somatic Experiencing share the same foundational understanding — that lasting change requires working with the nervous system, not just the thinking mind. In practice they operate differently and access different layers of experience.
Many clients benefit from both approaches within the same course of treatment. Which we use — and when — is determined together based on what you're working through and how your system responds.
Brainspotting
Uses specific eye positions to locate and process stored experiences with precision. Particularly effective for identifiable trauma, performance blocks, and compulsive patterns.
Somatic Experiencing
Works broadly with the body's activation patterns, building the nervous system's capacity to regulate over time. Particularly effective for chronic dysregulation and burnout.
Is Somatic Experiencing evidence-based?
Yes. A growing body of research supports SE's effectiveness for trauma, PTSD, and stress-related conditions. Dr. Levine's foundational work — particularly Waking the Tiger — remains one of the most widely cited texts in somatic trauma treatment.
COMMON QUESTIONS
How is Somatic Experiencing different from talk therapy?
Traditional talk therapy works through insight and cognitive understanding. SE works through the body — tracking physical sensations and nervous system responses. For people who have understood their patterns thoroughly without changing them, SE provides access to a different level entirely.
Is Somatic Experiencing available via telehealth?
Yes — and it adapts well to the telehealth format. Many clients find working from their own environment actually supports the sense of safety the work requires.
How does Somatic Experiencing relate to Brainspotting?
Both are body-based, nervous system-focused approaches. I use both in my practice and often integrate them. The SE + Brainspotting section above explains how they work together in more detail.
Is Somatic Experiencing available in an intensive format?
Yes. Extended sessions allow for deeper work than a standard session can reach. Learn more on the Intensives page.
If your nervous system has been running the show — let's work with it directly.
Somatic Experiencing is available now, in-person and via telehealth — alone or alongside Brainspotting, depending on what you would benefit from.
In-person · New Hope, MN · Telehealth · Minnesota-wide · Insurance & private pay