Dr. Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing is one of the most popular somatic psychotherapies for PTSD and survivors of trauma. Their website offers this brief definition of SE:

Somatic Experiencing® is a body-awareness approach to trauma being taught throughout the world. It is the result of over forty years of observation, research, and hands-on development by Dr. Levine. Based upon the realization that human beings have an innate ability to overcome the effects of trauma, Somatic Experiencing has touched the lives of many thousands. SE® restores self-regulation, and returns a sense of aliveness, relaxation and wholeness to traumatized individuals who have had these precious gifts taken away. Peter has applied his work to combat veterans, rape survivors, Holocaust survivors, auto accident and post surgical trauma, chronic pain sufferers, and even to infants after suffering traumatic births.

The SE models seeks to balance an unbalanced nervous system. Here are two graphics that help to explain the model.

The image above is how we are when healthy, the image below shows how trauma disrupts the system and leaves us either over-activated (anxious, restless, emotionally flooded, and so on) or under-activated (depressed, dissociated, fatigued) and quite often bouncing back and forth between these two states.

Levine has written several excellent books on SE, two of the best are Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences (1997) and In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness (2010).

Shrink Rap Radio #347 – Somatic Experiencing for Trauma Work with Suzie Gruber and Jerry Allen

Posted on April 18, 2013



Suzie Gruber, M.A., SEP., holds advanced degrees in chemistry & psychology She spent 15 years in biotechnology before returning to her first love helping people transform their lives. A Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in private practice in Sebastopol, CA, Suzie assists practitioner trainings while piloting an effort to apply SE to the child welfare setting.

Jerry Allen, MFT, MPH, psychotherapist, health educator, musician, and currently in training in Somatic Experiencing®. With 23 years in child protective services helping families undergoing abuse, stress, violence and addiction, three black belts in Aikido, and a lifelong interest in resolution of stress, conflict and development of healthy families and communities.

Check out the following Psychology CE Courses based on listening to Shrink Rap Radio interviews:

• Jungian Psychotherapy Part 1 (6 CEUs)
• Jungian Psychotherapy Part 2 (7 CEUs)
• Jungian Psychotherapy Part 3 (7 CEUs)
• Jungian Psychotherapy Part 4 (6 CEUs)
• Jungian Psychotherapy Part 5 (7 CEUs)
• Jungian Psychotherapy Package of the Five Above (33 CEUs)
• Wisdom of The Dream (4 CEUs)
• Positive Psychology (6 CEUs)
• Pros and Cons of Positive Psychology (5 CEUs)
• CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY (32 CEUs)
• Body-Mind: Goodbye to Dualism (6 CEUs)
• Brain: Insights from Neuroscience (8 CEUs)
• Meditation & Psychotherapy (8 CEUs)
• Insights from Neuroscience (8 CEUs)
• Neuroscience and Healing (8 CEUs)

A psychology podcast by David Van Nuys, Ph.D.
copyright 2013: David Van Nuys, Ph.D.

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