Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-oriented approach to healing stress, shock, and trauma. Developed by Peter Levine, it works with the body's natural capacity to regulate the nervous system and discharge survival responses that have become stuck.
What it is
Peter Levine developed Somatic Experiencing after observing that animals in the wild rarely suffer lasting trauma despite regular life-threatening encounters — because they complete their physiological stress responses through trembling, shaking, and movement. Humans, by contrast, often suppress these responses, leaving residual activation in the nervous system.
SE works gently with body sensation, imagery, and movement to help clients complete interrupted survival responses. Key concepts include 'titration' (working in small, manageable doses), 'pendulation' (moving between resource and activation), and 'discharge' (the physical release of stored stress energy). Practitioners track sensation, posture, and gesture with close attention.
How it is used in coaching
SE-informed coaching recognises that the body carries important information about a client's state, history, and readiness for change. Coaches with SE training may invite clients to slow down and notice what is happening physically — tension, breath, impulse to move — as a gateway to deeper self-understanding. Particularly relevant when coaching executives or leaders carrying high stress loads or a history of burnout.
Key benefits & applications
Addresses the physiological dimension of stress and change; works at a level beneath conscious narrative; supports sustainable nervous system regulation; increasingly valued in leadership coaching.
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