Somatic Experiencing Therapy in Edmonton
Trauma lives in the body — not just the mind. Somatic Experiencing helps your nervous system release what it has been holding, so you can feel safe in yourself again.
Trauma gets stuck in the body
Somatic Experiencing Therapy (SE) is a body-oriented approach to healing trauma developed by Dr. Peter Levine. It's based on the understanding that trauma isn't just a psychological event — it's a physical one. When we experience something overwhelming, our nervous system activates the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. If that energy doesn't get fully discharged, it stays trapped in the body.
This is why survivors of trauma often feel on edge, numb, disconnected, or physically unwell long after the danger has passed. The nervous system continues to act as though the threat is still present — because the trauma was never fully processed and released.
SE works by gently tracking physical sensations, guiding you to complete the body's natural self-protective responses, and helping your nervous system return to a regulated, settled state. Healing happens at the body's own pace — never forced, always led by you.
The Body's Trauma Responses
- Fight — anger, aggression, urge to push back
- Flight — anxiety, restlessness, urge to escape
- Freeze — numbness, dissociation, feeling stuck
- Fawn — people-pleasing, difficulty saying no
- SE helps the body complete these incomplete responses and return to safety
- Sessions focus on physical sensations, not the story of what happened
- You remain in control — the pace is always yours
- Works even when you can't remember or talk about the trauma
Healing at the body's pace
At Summit, our SE-trained therapists create a safe, unhurried space where your nervous system can do what it knows how to do — heal. Sessions are collaborative and gentle, guided entirely by what you notice in your body moment to moment.
You don't need to retell your story repeatedly, and you don't need to relive painful memories to heal. SE works by tracking sensations, noticing small shifts, and helping your system gradually discharge the survival energy that has been keeping you stuck.
"The body has its own wisdom. Somatic Experiencing trusts that wisdom — and helps you reconnect with it."
What can Somatic Experiencing help with?
SE is particularly effective for trauma and stress-related conditions where the body holds the impact of difficult experiences long after the mind has tried to move on.
Trauma & PTSD
SE was developed specifically for trauma — helping the nervous system process and release what couldn't be completed at the time of the event.
Anxiety
When anxiety is rooted in a dysregulated nervous system, body-based approaches often reach what talk therapy cannot.
Mood Disorders
Depression and emotional dysregulation often have a somatic component — SE helps restore the body's natural rhythm and aliveness.
Grief & Loss
Grief is experienced in the body as much as the mind. SE creates space for the body to process loss at its own pace.
Chronic Pain
Many chronic pain conditions are linked to nervous system dysregulation. SE can help interrupt the body's stress response cycles.
Eating Disorders
SE supports reconnection with the body's signals — hunger, fullness, safety — in a gentle, non-judgmental way.
Relationship Issues
Attachment wounds and relational trauma often show up in the body. SE helps you feel safe enough to connect with others again.
Abuse Survivors
SE is gentle, non-intrusive, and never requires retelling the story — making it especially accessible for survivors of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
A simple grounding exercise
One of the core tools in Somatic Experiencing is learning to regulate your nervous system through breath and body awareness. Try this short exercise — it takes less than two minutes.
How SE sessions work
Every SE session at Summit is guided by your nervous system's natural pace. Here's how the process typically unfolds.
Build Safety
Before anything else, your therapist helps you establish a felt sense of safety in your body — through resourcing, grounding, and building trust in the therapeutic relationship.
Track Sensations
Together, you gently tune in to physical sensations — warmth, tension, tingling, heaviness. Your therapist guides you to notice without being overwhelmed.
Titrate & Pendulate
SE works in small doses — moving between areas of activation and areas of calm in the body, allowing the nervous system to gradually expand its capacity for sensation.
Discharge & Integrate
As trapped survival energy is released — through trembling, tears, spontaneous movement, or deep breath — the nervous system settles. Integration follows naturally.
Clinicians trained in Somatic Experiencing
Our SE-trained therapists bring both clinical expertise and deep compassion to body-based trauma work. They'll meet you exactly where you are.
Frequently asked questions
Your body already knows
how to heal.
Our Somatic Experiencing therapists are accepting new clients across Edmonton, St. Albert, Windermere, and online throughout Alberta.
Summit Counselling Services acknowledges that we operate on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional lands of the Cree, Nakota Sioux, Saulteaux, and Blackfoot peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. We are committed to culturally safe and inclusive care for all.
Summit Counselling Services is a counselling practice operating our of Edmonton and St. Albert. We provide clinical services to children, adolescents, adults, seniors, couples, and families. We have a talented team of Edmonton psychologists, therapists and counsellors with a wide range of specializations and trainings at Summit Counselling Services who would be honoured to walk beside you on your journey. At Summit, we believe in therapy your way. Our goal is to customize your psychotherapy and counselling sessions to best suit your needs. We believe in the differences and unique perspectives each person brings to therapy and incorporate these into our work with you.