About Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a trauma-informed therapy that focuses on processing trauma at the bodily level, where unprocessed traumatic memories are often stored as physical tension, numbing, or dysregulation. At Trust SoCal, our Somatic Experiencing-trained therapists guide clients to develop awareness of bodily sensations and complete the "frozen" stress responses that remain trapped in the nervous system after traumatic events.
Trauma interrupts the body's natural instinct to fight, flee, or freeze. When these protective responses cannot be completed, the nervous system remains stuck in a hypervigilant or shut-down state—clients feel constantly unsafe or emotionally numb. This dysregulation often drives substance use as a way to manage or escape the overwhelming physical sensations. Somatic Experiencing helps the nervous system complete these interrupted responses by gently directing attention to body sensations and allowing the body to move, shake, or express what it needs to finish processing the trauma.
