When the Body Remembers: Understanding Somatic Experiencing and Trauma Healing
"I know I'm safe now, but my body doesn't seem to get the message." "I can talk about what happened, but I still feel it in my chest, my stomach, my shoulders." "Sometimes I have panic attacks for no reason at all."
If these experiences sound familiar, you're not alone. Traditional talk therapy, while incredibly valuable, doesn't always address the full impact of trauma. That's because trauma isn't just stored in our minds—it lives in our bodies, in our nervous systems, in the very cells that make up who we are.
As a therapist practicing in Santa Monica, I've witnessed the profound healing that becomes possible when we include the body in trauma recovery. This is where somatic experiencing comes in—a gentle, body-based approach that helps us complete the biological responses that trauma interrupted.
Understanding Trauma Through the Body's Lens
To understand somatic experiencing, we need to first understand what trauma actually does to our bodies. When we face a life-threatening or overwhelming situation, our nervous system activates one of three survival responses: fight, flight, or freeze.
In healthy situations, we mobilize these responses, deal with the threat, and then our nervous system naturally returns to a state of calm. Think of a gazelle being chased by a lion—if it escapes, it will literally shake off the excess energy and then go back to grazing peacefully.
But trauma disrupts this natural process. When we can't fight or flee—perhaps because we're too young, too small, or the threat is someone we depend on—we often freeze. This survival energy gets trapped in our bodies, creating what we experience as trauma symptoms: hypervigilance, panic attacks, chronic tension, digestive issues, sleep problems, and that persistent feeling that something is "wrong" even when we're objectively safe.
What Makes Somatic Experiencing Different
Traditional therapy focuses primarily on the mind—understanding what happened, processing emotions, and changing thought patterns. Somatic experiencing, developed by Dr. Peter Levine, works directly with the nervous system to help complete those interrupted survival responses.
This approach recognizes that:
The body holds wisdom. Your nervous system is constantly scanning for safety and threat. Sometimes it knows things before your conscious mind does. Those "gut feelings" or inexplicable anxiety responses might be your body trying to tell you something important.
Healing happens through felt experience, not just understanding. You can intellectually know you're safe while your body remains in a state of high alert. Somatic work helps bridge this gap between knowing and feeling.
Small movements can create big changes. Unlike some therapies that encourage dramatic emotional release, somatic experiencing works with subtle sensations and gentle movements. This prevents re-traumatization and honors your system's natural pace of healing.
The body wants to heal. Just like a physical wound naturally moves toward healing, your nervous system has an innate drive toward balance and health. Sometimes it just needs support to remember how.
What Happens in a Somatic Session
If you've never experienced somatic work, you might wonder what actually happens in a session. Unlike traditional talk therapy where you might spend the entire hour discussing your thoughts and feelings, somatic experiencing involves paying careful attention to what's happening in your body moment by moment.
We might notice:
Where you feel tension or tightness
Areas of warmth, coolness, or tingling
Your breathing patterns
Impulses to move in certain ways
Sensations of expansion or contraction
For example, you might be telling me about a stressful situation when I notice your shoulders rising toward your ears. I might gently point this out and ask what happens if you let them drop. Sometimes this simple awareness and movement can shift your entire nervous system state.
Or we might explore a feeling of anxiety by locating it in your body. Where do you feel it? What does it want to do? If it could move, how would it move? Often, allowing these natural impulses helps discharge trapped survival energy.
The Science Behind Somatic Healing
This isn't just New Age philosophy—there's solid science behind somatic approaches. Research in neuroscience has shown us that trauma affects areas of the brain responsible for memory, emotion regulation, and body awareness. The brainstem and limbic system, which govern our survival responses, can remain activated long after the original threat has passed.
Somatic experiencing works with these primitive brain areas through the body's sensory systems. When we slow down and pay attention to sensations, we're communicating directly with the parts of our brain that hold trauma, often bypassing the cognitive mind that can sometimes get in the way of healing.
Studies have shown that somatic approaches can be particularly effective for:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Chronic pain conditions
Anxiety and panic disorders
Depression
Autoimmune conditions
Sleep disorders
Who Can Benefit from Somatic Work
You don't need to have experienced "big T" trauma to benefit from somatic experiencing. Our bodies store all kinds of stress and overwhelm, from ongoing relationship difficulties to work pressure to the collective trauma we've all experienced in recent years.
You might find somatic work helpful if you:
Feel disconnected from your body or emotions
Experience chronic tension, pain, or illness without clear medical causes
Have difficulty regulating your emotions
Feel stuck in therapy despite years of talking about your issues
Experience panic attacks or anxiety that seems to come from nowhere
Have trouble sleeping or relaxing
Feel hypervigilant or constantly "on edge"
Struggle with boundaries or saying no
Have a history of trauma but find traditional therapy overwhelming
Common Misconceptions About Somatic Work
"It's too touchy-feely for me." Somatic experiencing isn't about forced emotional expression or dramatic catharsis. It's actually quite gentle and respects your pace entirely. You remain fully clothed, and physical touch, if used at all, is minimal and always with explicit consent.
"I need to relive my trauma to heal." This is absolutely not true. In fact, good somatic work specifically avoids re-traumatization. We work with what's present in your body right now, not with forcing you to re-experience past events.
"It's not real therapy." Somatic experiencing is a legitimate, evidence-based therapeutic approach. Many therapists integrate somatic techniques with traditional talk therapy for a more comprehensive healing experience.
"I have to be spiritual or believe in energy work." While some people find spiritual meaning in somatic work, it's fundamentally based in biology and neuroscience. You don't need any particular beliefs to benefit from it.
Integrating Body and Mind in Healing
In my practice, I often combine somatic techniques with traditional therapy approaches. This integration can be incredibly powerful because it addresses trauma on multiple levels simultaneously.
We might spend part of a session talking about a current relationship challenge, then notice how discussing it affects your body. Do your shoulders tense? Does your breathing become shallow? Does your stomach tighten? These bodily responses give us valuable information about what this situation means to your nervous system.
Sometimes clients discover that their body has wisdom their mind hasn't accessed yet. A woman might realize that her chronic shoulder tension is connected to feeling like she's carrying everyone else's burdens. A man might notice that his jaw tightness relates to years of holding back his true feelings.
The Gentle Path of Healing
One of the most beautiful aspects of somatic work is its gentleness. Unlike approaches that might push you to "break through" resistance, somatic experiencing honors your system's protective mechanisms. If part of you isn't ready to feel something, we respect that. If you need to go slowly, we go slowly.
This approach recognizes that the same nervous system that holds your trauma also holds your healing capacity. By working with your body's natural wisdom rather than against it, healing can happen in a way that feels safe and sustainable.
What Healing Looks Like
Somatic healing often happens in layers and waves rather than dramatic breakthroughs. You might notice:
Feeling more grounded and present in your body
Improved sleep and digestion
Less chronic tension or pain
Better emotional regulation
Increased capacity to handle stress
A sense of feeling "at home" in your body
More intuitive awareness of your needs and boundaries
The changes can be subtle at first—maybe you sleep a little better, or you notice you're not holding your breath as much. Over time, these small shifts accumulate into significant transformations.
Finding Your Way Forward
If you're curious about somatic experiencing, trust that curiosity. Your body might be telling you it's ready for a different kind of healing. This doesn't mean abandoning other forms of therapy—somatic work often enhances and deepens the benefits of traditional approaches.
Remember that healing isn't linear, and there's no "right" way to heal from trauma. Some people benefit from talking extensively about their experiences. Others find that their bodies need attention first before they can access their emotions or memories. Many people find that a combination of approaches works best.
The most important thing is listening to what feels right for you. Your body has been with you through everything—it deserves to be part of your healing journey too.
Interested in exploring somatic experiencing as part of your healing journey? I incorporate body-based approaches with traditional therapy to support comprehensive trauma recovery. If you're in the Santa Monica area and ready to include your body's wisdom in your healing process, I'd be honored to support you.
Want to learn more about trauma and the body? Check out our trauma recovery resources, including recommended books by Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, and other leaders in somatic healing.
Chloe Bean is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in Santa Monica, California. She integrates somatic experiencing with traditional therapeutic approaches to support comprehensive healing from trauma, anxiety, and relationship challenges.