Somatic Experiencing®

Somatic Experiencing is a type of exposure therapy. When offered by our CDA licensed mental health practitioners, it may be covered by insurance. This will depend on your insurance provider. Please note that we do not have direct billing. We are happy to assist with reimbursement claim forms for clinical services that are offered by our CDA and DHA licensed team.

Somatic Experiencing is a mindfulness-based therapeutic technique that focuses on helping recover the body’s capacity for emotion regulation and overall resilience. It involves slowing down in order to allow the body to lead the session and complete trauma responses to bring the physiology back into the balanced state of rest-digest. Somatic Exercise is a broad term used today by different people to describe movement-based therapies that focus on shifting the overall experience of the body-mind.

Yes. SE often complements other therapeutic modalities like EMDR, Brainspotting, and IFS. It can be integrated to help better guide other techniques while keeping in mind the client’s overall emotion regulation and resilience, or it can be used as a standalone approach depending on the therapist's training and client needs.

A typical SE session may involve minimal talking about the trauma. Instead, the therapist guides the client to slow down and notice body sensations, images, movements, and impulses. Sessions are paced gently to avoid retraumatization.

While it’s especially effective for trauma and PTSD, SE is also helpful for chronic stress, anxiety, physical pain, attachment issues, and emotional dysregulation. It can improve resilience and support overall nervous system health.

SE emphasizes bodily awareness and nervous system regulation over cognitive analysis. While talk therapy may focus on discussing memories and feelings, SE prioritizes tuning into physical sensations and subtle bodily cues to resolve trauma at a physiological level.