Somatic Experiencing: A Body-Based Alternative to EMDR for Trauma Therapy
Trauma healing is a deeply personal process, and finding the right approach can make a big difference. In Florida, many people turn to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) as the go-to therapy for trauma. But did you know there’s another option? Somatic Experiencing (SE) offers a gentle, body-based approach to healing trauma that might be exactly what you’re looking for.
Who I Am and Why I’m Talking About This
I’m Amy Hagerstrom, a somatic psychotherapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I work with adults navigating midlife stress and trauma, people seeking a mind-body approach to healing, and children and teens using the Safe and Sound Protocol to support their nervous systems.
Since recently moving to Florida from Chicago, I’ve noticed that EMDR is often seen as the default trauma therapy in this region. I’ve also observed that many people either haven’t heard of Somatic Experiencing or, if they have, they don’t really know what it is or that it’s even an option for therapy. However, in Chicago, Somatic Experiencing is much more widely recognized and used as a powerful, body-based approach to trauma healing.
I’m writing this blog to introduce Somatic Experiencing (SE) to people and professionals across Florida as well as other places who may not yet know about it. SE offers a different approach to trauma healing compared to EMDR. Whether as an alternative for those who need a gentler process or as a complement to EMDR at different stages, SE can provide valuable support.
Disclaimer: I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and not trained in EMDR. I have done my best to describe EMDR accurately based on research and my professional experience working alongside EMDR therapists.
Understanding EMDR and Somatic Experiencing
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps people process traumatic memories and reframe their emotional responses. It follows an eight-phase protocol, guiding clients through history-taking, preparation, trauma processing, and integration. One of EMDR’s hallmark features is the use of bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, tapping, or auditory cues) to help the brain reprocess distressing memories.
The idea behind EMDR is that trauma can overwhelm the brain’s natural processing abilities, leaving painful memories “stuck” and continuing to trigger emotional and physical distress. EMDR helps to unlock these stuck memories, enabling the brain to process them in a healthier way. It is particularly effective for people who are ready to engage with their traumatic memories directly and can often lead to profound shifts in relatively few sessions.
What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-focused therapy that addresses how trauma is stored in the nervous system. Unlike EMDR, SE does not require revisiting or reprocessing specific memories. Instead, it works by helping people notice and work with their body sensations, survival responses, and nervous system patterns that may remain activated long after the traumatic event. SE helps people develop the ability to recognize and work with emotions and physical sensations without getting overwhelmed.
Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, SE is rooted in the understanding that trauma is not just what happens to us but also what happens inside us in response to overwhelming events. By gently releasing stored survival energy and widening the nervous system’s ability to handle stress, SE helps deactivate trauma responses and creates a greater sense of safety and connection in daily life.
How Somatic Experiencing Complements EMDR
Somatic Experiencing (SE) offers valuable support for clients who might feel overwhelmed or even intimidated by the intensity of EMDR. It can help them build resilience and readiness for EMDR or provide additional integration support after completing it. For people who are not ready to dive into memory-focused trauma work, SE helps build the foundational skills needed to tolerate and process distress. By focusing on nervous system regulation first, SE helps clients build the capacity to stay present and grounded during EMDR sessions, reducing the likelihood of overwhelm.
For those who have completed EMDR but still feel lingering physical tension or activation, SE provides an opportunity to integrate healing at the physiological level. Together, these therapies can offer a comprehensive path to recovery, addressing both the cognitive and physical impacts of trauma.
Why Somatic Experiencing Can Be a Great Alternative to EMDR
While EMDR is highly effective for many, it’s not the right fit for everyone. Some people find the direct focus on memories overwhelming or struggle to stay present during sessions. SE provides a gentler, body-centered approach to trauma healing. It focuses on the body’s physiology and helps the nervous system heal by releasing stored stress and expanding the ability to handle life’s challenges.
Trauma Lives in the Body
Trauma doesn’t just exist in the mind; it lives in the body. When something overwhelming happens, the body shifts into survival mode, triggering responses like fight, flight, freeze, or collapse. These responses are meant to protect us in the moment, but when the body doesn’t return to a state of safety, these survival responses can become stuck. This often leads to symptoms like chronic tension, fatigue, emotional numbness, chronic pain, or an inability to connect with others.
SE works directly with these stuck responses, helping the body release the energy of survival mode and return to a state of regulation. By focusing on what is happening in the body here and now—rather than diving into past events—SE creates a sense of safety and control that is essential for healing.
Navigating Strong Emotions and Physical Sensations
One of SE’s key strengths is its focus on building capacity to navigate strong emotions and physical sensations. Many people with unresolved trauma find it difficult to stay present with intense feelings or body sensations without shutting down or becoming overwhelmed. SE helps expand this capacity in a way that feels manageable and safe.
Through small, incremental steps, clients learn to notice and work with their physical and emotional states without being flooded by them. This ability to stay present and regulate internal experiences is not only healing in itself but also lays the groundwork for deeper trauma processing if needed.
Deactivating Trauma Responses
SE doesn’t just build tolerance; it also helps deactivate trauma responses that continue to cause distress. By working with the body’s natural rhythms and cycles, SE allows the nervous system to complete unresolved survival responses—such as the urge to fight or flee—that were interrupted during an event or period of time that felt unsafe, leaving lasting effects on the nervous system. This process helps release stored energy and reduces symptoms like hypervigilance, chronic pain, or emotional reactivity.
A Gentle Alternative to Memory-Focused Work
For people who feel overwhelmed by revisiting traumatic memories, SE provides a gentler and more approachable path to healing. Instead of focusing on what happened, SE focuses on what is happening now in the body. This allows clients to heal without needing to relive or analyze their past experiences in detail.
By helping clients reconnect with their bodies in a way that feels safe and supportive, SE fosters long-lasting change and a greater sense of empowerment.
Final Thoughts: SE as a Complement or Standalone Approach
Both EMDR and Somatic Experiencing are powerful tools for healing trauma, and neither is inherently better than the other. They each offer unique strengths and can be tailored to meet the needs of the person. For some, EMDR’s structured, memory-focused approach is exactly what’s needed. For others, SE’s body-based, capacity-building focus provides the safety and gentleness necessary for meaningful healing.
Whether used as a standalone therapy or in combination with EMDR, SE can offer a profound path to recovery by addressing the physiological roots of trauma. If you’re looking for a trauma therapy that meets you where you are, helps you feel more connected to yourself, and supports your body’s natural ability to heal, SE might be the right choice for you.
To learn more about how Somatic Experiencing can help, visit www.amyhagerstrom.com/somatic-experiencing.