resilience Archieven - Lichaamsgerichte therapie (psychotherapie & traumatherapie) in Amsterdam

Somatic Experiencing (SE)®

02.11.2025 somatic therapy, somatic traumatherapy, therapy, Trauma

“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”

~Peter Levine, founder of SE

Somatic Experiencing is a form of body-oriented trauma therapy and a scientifically based method for working with physical and psychological symptoms of stress, shock, and trauma (PTSD). SE is based on Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory.

SE focuses on completing the natural responses to traumatic events and making feelings of powerlessness and despair understandable. Unprocessed traumatic experiences disrupt the natural rhythm and regulation of the nervous system. This reduces resilience and can lead to all kinds of physical, emotional, and psychological complaints. By integrating that stored survival energy, you restore your original vitality and resilience. In SE sessions, the body’s natural self-regulating systems are addressed by, among other things, increasing somatic awareness, slowing down, processing major experiences in small steps, and finding resources.

In SE sessions, we observe how the body’s physiology has remembered the story of what happened, so that with that information, the story as it was can be given a new sequel.

Photo: Eric Combeau

embodied activism

02.11.2025 somatic therapy, somatic traumatherapy, therapy, Trauma

“At its best, activism is a form of healing. It is about what we do and how we show up in the world. It is about learning and expressing regard, compassion, and love.”

~ Resmaa Menakem

Standing up and speaking out against social norms that are causing opression and disruption, in whatever form, is an act of activism.

We are all born with the capacity to express ourselves and to protest when injustice is done to us or to others. Every human being has the right to stand up for themselves and for others. To do this, you need access to your caring, your heart, your voice, your courage, your strength.

Sustainable activism is about moving back and forth between pain and action. If we move too quickly from pain to action and don’t allow ourselves time to mourn what we have already lost and are yet to lose, we try to mask our pain with solutions. This can burn us out.

These times call for inner activism and outward activism (Caroline Hickman). The inner process of daring to feel our fear and grief can open up access to our vitality. This is what we need to use our voices and take action to address injustice and stand up for life. This is what brings meaning and creates hope.

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” ~Vaclav Havel

Foto: Michiel Wijnbergh