Somatic Psychotherapy Today

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Revisiting trauma memories involves accessing the states of heightened emotion during which the trauma took place. When a therapist invokes this there is a distinct danger of retraumatizing the client, something that may inadvertently occur in a clinical interview, (or may be intentionally provoked in certain exposure therapies). In Somatic Experiencing, the intention is quite the opposite. A client seeking help for trauma recovery is already in an activated state, so generally no additional arousal is intentionally elicited until after some foundational work has taken place to enable the client to stabilize, connect with the here and now, and access an innate sense of safety. This is done through the skillful use of the therapeutic relationship, in conjunction with a variety of educational and experiential methods to help the client enhance his capacity to self-regulate. (This stage could take ten minutes or years depending on diagnostic and situational factors.) When the trauma memory is accessed, it does not need to be through the “story” of the event, as the implicit memory is accessible through association. For example, working with the client’s fearful response to an irate boss could also impact trauma resulting from an incident with an abusive father. While the narrative is an important component of the trauma, it is only one of many elements to which the SE practitioner attends while monitoring the client’s nervous system state. The Somatic Experiencing therapist gently guides the client through states of activation and deactivation in a subtle and intentional manner that brings about the release of nervous system tension associated with the related trauma. Ideally the client emerges feeling empowered, with the absence or reduction of trauma symptoms, and the sense of capacity that comes from experiencing that his/her own body has the innate ability to self-regulate. It is beyond the scope of this article to detail how to bring this about; there are numerous “how-to” books and CDs available at the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, as well as the practitioner training itself. But even without the SE training, the use of Levine’s trauma paradigm, particularly his understanding of freeze as a defensive response, can enhance a practitioner’s effectiveness and reduce the likelihood of re-traumatizing a client. Levine deserves significant credit for his role in bringing “freeze” into the therapeutic lexicon where it is now becoming more commonly acknowledged as a full partner in the trio of defensive responses. Levine has spent his life lobbying for the recognition and understanding of this once marginalized and often misunderstood element of trauma. Arguably he was the first psychologist to be using body oriented techniques specifically for trauma recovery. His work led him to receive the 2010 Lifetime Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP). Nicola Ranson, MSW has been a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner since 2005. She received her SE training from Steven Hoskinson MA, M.A.T., and Peter Levine, Ph. D. She has been licensed as a Clinical Social Worker in California since 1997. She currently has a private practice called “Tea and Empathy Counseling” in Encinitas, California, where she specializes in trauma and anxiety: www.teaempathy.com. She received her MSW at San Diego State University and her BA in Drama and English at Bristol University, England, where she focused on Drama Therapy. Since 1999 she has been on the Adjunct Faculty at National University, where she teaches in the Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling programs. Since 2004, she has provided clinical services for Survivors of Torture, International, San Diego. Her previous work in theatre and massage helped orient her towards somatic psychotherapy. She credits gardening, painting, SE and her husband Ron with helping her to stay present. She can be reached at nic@teaempathy.com. References Levine, P. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books. Scaer, R. (2005). The trauma spectrum. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Somatic Psychotherapy Today | Fall 2015 | Volume 5 Number 4 | page 96
The Felt Sense of Safety and Pleasure and How They can be Applied to Social Work and Case Management By Nicola M-L Ranson, MSW I am unaware of any trauma treatment that does not stress the fundamental need for therapeutic safety. Even cognitive therapy, cerebral by its very name, needs adaptations when applied to the severely traumatized. Donald Meichenbaum, one of the leaders in cognitive therapy, stresses the necessity of establishing a warm and safe therapeutic relationship when working with PTSD. Noting that he sounded more like a Humanistic than a Cognitive therapist, one audience member asked him, “Whatever happened to cognitive therapy?” He replied: “Trauma happened.” (D. Meichenbaum, personal communication, April 18, 2007, “Promising Practices in Torture Treatment” conference, San Diego, CA). However, comfort and safety are elusive for the traumatized client. Heighted anxiety can make body sensation intolerable, and the overactive brain anticipates every possible circumstance that might go wrong. Somatic Psychotherapy Today | Fall 2015 | Volume 5 Number 4 | page 97
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Our Usual Fare 10 From the IBPJ Man
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Our goal is for every baby to recei
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The very effort of delivering two i
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place they feel safe is with you, t
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fear” (personal communication, 09
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Self-Regulation “A number of tech
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“understanding why you feel a cer
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Stephen W. Porges PhD is Distinguis
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Empathy is: An interpersonal skill/
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we could somehow screen, or measure
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An answer came in 2010 in the form
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To sum up in the word of the surviv
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What is EFT? EFT or tapping, develo
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