Somato-Emotional Release

What is the effect of Trauma on the body?

The word trauma comes to us from the Greek root meaning "wound" or "injury". This is loosely defined as any experience from which you emerged fundamentally changed mentally or physically and perhaps both. These are usually overwhelming experiences which challenge our core beliefs about how life or society is "supposed" to work. Not every stressful event is trauma (a word that is sometimes overutilized in our emerging awareness). Every trauma however is stressful to the point of overwhelming the resources of the person experiencing the event.

Physical trauma is more easily understood in impact injuries such as moving vehicle accidents, falls, concussions and sports injuries--especially those with observable affects. The Emotional aspects of trauma are less understood, partially because the effects vary greatly depending on an individual's circumstances and resources at the time of the trauma. Additionally, our society has historically struggled to create compassionate space for uncomfortable truths.

In instances of overwhelm whether physical or emotional, the body may have no choice but to close in on itself for survival. In the post-traumatic phase of trauma recovery those tough experiences can be retained in the tissue as a unresolved somatic memory capsule. Often this somatic influence will remain as a latent trigger until resourced by supportive experiences, including somatic therapy.

What Is Somato-Emotional Release?

Somato-Emotional Release (SER) is a specialized extension of CranioSacral Therapy (CST)which facilitates the release of bodily held trauma through supportive touch, guided awareness, and sometimes verbal processing.

This system of therapy can support individuals in experiencing freedom from somatic triggers associated to previous trauma which may be showing up in ways that inhibit lifestyle in the post-traumatic phase of recovery. CST operates at the interface between body and mind, where stress and trauma are stored somatically, not just cognitively. By tuning into subtle shifts in tissue, rhythm, and energy, the therapy taps into the inherent intelligence of the body, helping it reestablish homeostasis and flow.

How Does It Help?

• Regulating The Nervous System

  CST/SER Promotes Parasympathetic Activation which is the body's antidote to anxiety. This is a natural response which improves our ability to regulate emotional states and reduces hypervigilance. Additionally it is the state where the body sleeps most soundly and repairs tissue damage. Moving out of sympathetic states of fight/flight or freeze is key to trauma recovery.

• Enhancing the Mind-Body Connection

  Many trauma survivors experience disconnection from their bodies, making it difficult to recognize emotions or regulate emotional energy within the body/mind system. The tool of SER, within CST treatment seeks to facilitate a therapeutic environment which encourages gentle and safe reconnection to bodily sensations creating a sense of grounded presence of body and mind integration which is crucial in healing trauma related anxiety.

• Reduction of Physical Tension and Pain

  Chronic stress and trauma can cause tension in fascia, muscles and keep the nervous system hyper-aroused or constantly scanning for threat. This commonly leads to headaches, jaw tension, neck and back pain for anxiety sufferers. CST is an inside-out, client-centered therapeutic model. By facilitating normal physiological movement of the tissues of the nervous system, we empower the CranioScaral system and its inherent fluid pressure to free tissue restrictions using its own inherent rhythm and fluid tide.

• Supporting Emotional Processing

  Talk therapy helps trauma survivors every day of every week, and yet for some may not lead to full recovery. Some individuals may struggle to verbalize what the have experienced for a variety of reasons. SER is a wonderful adjunct for conventional talk therapy and can assist in supporting non-verbal resolution of traumatic tissue memory thus helping facilitate greater progress in your therapeutic journey.

• Improved Sleep

  CST promotes deep relaxation, and helps to regulate the sleep wake cycle. SER is said to reduce intrusive thoughts by releasing tissue memory and interrupting the cycle of nervous system hyper-vigilance. Having a healthy regulated nervous system supports deep restorative sleep, and allows the CSF to repair and wash away debris from neural circuits no longer serving the needs of the individual.

• Empowering Resilience

  It is unfortunately common for trauma survivors to feel powerless over their emotions and bodily responses. Over time, CST and SER supports an individual to feel more agency in their body-reinforcing their ability to self soothe and manage anxiety symptoms with greater skill and more embodied presence.

How Many Sessions Until I feel better?

Individual response to CST is going to be different for each person. Your response to CST will be uniquely yours, and likely different each time as your body heals. Depending on your goals for treatment and the nature of your condition it’s possible to see dramatic results after just one treatment, while others might need multiple treatments each week for a few weeks to maintain progress.

Some factors which inform this response include the underlying health of the person receiving therapy as well as the chronicity of the condition for which you seek help. Lifestyle factors such as stability in the home and proper nutrition are also important, as the body needs to be able to feel safe to continue the rest/digest/repair (parasympathetic) cycle after treatment. You should be able to collaborate with your practitioner to build a plan which meets your needs. We will absolutely do our best to meet you where you are.