Somatic Experiencing operates on the understanding that the body holds memory, traumatic stress, and patterns of response that may not be accessible through cognitive approaches alone. It emphasizes the wisdom of the nervous system and how our bodies organize to protect us from perceived threats and move toward safety and connection. Rather than treating the body as separate from mind or emotions, somatic approaches view them as an integrated system.

The work typically involves developing interoceptive awareness—the ability to sense internal bodily signals like heart rate, muscle tension, constrictions, breathing patterns, and gut sensations in the body. Practitioners learn to track these sensations and notice how they shift in response to thoughts, memories, relationships, or environmental changes. Using practices like titration and pendulation, we can use our body’s own internal resources to resolve our thwarted protective responses.

Research suggests several compelling reasons to engage in somatic work. First, many psychological and relational patterns are held in the nervous system below the threshold of conscious awareness. Someone might intellectually understand their anxiety patterns but continue experiencing panic attacks because the body's threat detection system hasn't been addressed.

Second, traumatic stress often overwhelms cognitive processing and gets stored somatically. The body may remain in states of hypervigilance, collapse, or fragmentation long after threatening situations have passed. Somatic approaches can help renegotiate these stuck survival responses.

Third, many people report feeling disconnected from their bodies or experiencing chronic symptoms without clear medical explanations. Somatic work can restore the capacity for self-regulation and embodied presence.