Does Somatic Experiencing (SE) Work? SE practices for healing | Monica LeSage | TEDxWilmingtonWomen
NOTE FROM TED: Please consult with a mental health professional and do not look to this talk for medical advice as somatic experiencing is still an emerging field of study. We’ve flagged this talk for falling outside TEDx’s curatorial guidelines. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf
Trauma is an epidemic, contributing to problems in countless homes and workplaces worldwide. People who have experienced trauma are 15 times more likely to commit suicide, three times more likely to experience depression or use antidepressant medication, four times more likely to become an alcoholic, develop an STD, or inject drugs, and three times more likely to have serious job problems or be absent from work. While experts disagree on the single best modality to treat trauma, there is general agreement that it won’t be one thing that does the trick.
Monica LeSage has used Somatic Experiencing as a core element of her recovery, and in the last 6 years has radically tranformed her life. Previously depressed, in constant pain, and unable to work, she was taught somatic experiencing practices by her counselor Dr. Nancy Bement, and now she works full-time, in less pain than ever. The Somatic Experiencing® method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. It is the life’s work of Dr. Peter A. Levine, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, together with over 45 years of successful clinical application.
In her talk she describes how Somatic Experiencing works, how she uses it manage to daily stress, anxiety, and chronic pain, and shares a demonstration of how she used it to help a stranger when she witnessed a traumatic injury this year. Whether you learn Somatic Experiencing principles to heal yourself, a loved one, or a client, this is a tool that everyone needs to have in their healing tool belt.
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Leaving behind a successful career in biotechnology sales, after a life-altering motor vehicle accident, Monica started a career in leadership and talent development. Facing moderate-severe pain daily for 11 years, she has devoted much of her spare time to regaining vitality through play, learning to sit, and relentlessly exploring treatments or therapies that may help.
Through a unique version of trauma therapy called Somatic Experiencing, she now rock climbs again, plays guitar, and has recently started doing acrobatic partner yoga. She is integrating these experiences with her experiences as a leadership trainer and has created a workshop to help others learn to prevent trauma, or to heal trauma/pain to live fully again.
Leaving behind a successful career in biotechnology sales, after a life-altering motor vehicle accident, Monica started a career in leadership and talent development. Facing moderate-severe pain daily for 11 years, she has devoted much of her spare time to regaining vitality through play, learning to sit, and relentlessly exploring treatments or therapies that may help.
Through a unique version of trauma therapy called Somatic Experiencing, she now rock climbs again, plays guitar, and has recently started doing acrobatic partner yoga. She is integrating these experiences with her experiences as a leadership trainer and has created a workshop to help others learn to prevent trauma, or to heal trauma/pain to live fully again. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
This is remarkable!!! Amazing work!!
Thank you, so empathic
I love how her legs stay wide and her posture is upright and big, taking up space in the whole entire time. More women need to this is dresses and skirts so it becomes normalised.
The trembling scares me more than anything. It’s both comforting and counterintuitive to hear that it’s safe and normal. My fear is always that it won’t stop. I’ve gone to the ER twice and they just inject me with Toradol to stop the trembling then send me on my way. It’s so hard to trust that it’s going to be okay. Thank you for such an eye opening talk!
Did it bug anyone else that she never took ownership for causing an accident that almost killed people? Or talk about if any of the other people even survived?
I can relate to not feeling safe in your own body! Sort of like derealization and detachment as well! I’m going to lean into somatic and ground myself ❤
Rodriguez Jessica Taylor Elizabeth Gonzalez Ronald
Ok but when she tell the story about a construction worker cutting off his finger at the end of her driveway and kneels down and says “idk if you can feel anything right now, but help is on the way” I swear she was auditioning for SNL 😂😂😂😂😂
Thank you. I just keep crying because I never could figure out what to do or how to explain it.
Nice explanation !
Well, I have sadly a very different experience. Very unsafe experience.
I had been told that online courses of Annie Brook are the right thing for me because it is somatic, movement physical approach that I was searching for due to a physical impairment that was very well known to Annie Brook.
I came there because of somatic physical issues in my body and made it very clear what I am searching for, in form of e-mails that Annie Brook read and many time in the private sessions with her and in the online course of her.
I had been asking Annie Brook and her stuff what kind of therapy modality it is, it did not seem to me as somatic or movement physical approach. I received no answer.
In reality, I experienced that there was no somatic therapy, but the approach was aimed at people with behavioral and mental troubles like suicide, depressions, substance abuse, personality disorders etc.
The stuff of Annie Brook tried slowly but surely instead of this claimed somatic approach implant ideas into my mind: they just said in the online public course out of the blue that I apparently " I am self-attacking myself" and that " I shall not do this" etc.
I have never heard such a phantasmagory before. I told them repeatedly that they don´t need to worry and that I do not have such problems.
However, they di did not stop.
Slowly the experience developed into being attacked for wanting to ask a question/ or share my experience as other participants were allowed. I was literally not allowed to participate in the online courses and I was ostracized from the group.
It was publicly shared about me that " I have no money, so I can do some other online courses" and much more.
Once I managed to bring up my experience of a sick heart that I had in the past (the participants were encouraged to watch a picture of heart, so I brought up what my body needed to), I was immediately shut down in an aggressive way that in that sense, it does not matter what I say or what my body had gone through, that now I am in this group and I shall be safe with them and mainly, I have to shut up.
I wrote an e-mail about this incident to the woman who did it (she was apparently a therapist accordingly Annie Brook, but in reality, she was a hairdresser, no therapy license).
This lady responded that she attacked me because she does not listen to me at all and thus she did not care what I was saying.
It was obviously a general approach towards me.
She also told me that she does not listen to me because " I am speaking fast". It is quite a lie, however, somebody who is incompetent while playing a therapist can do lots of iatrogen damage and does not want to admit it. So, this person will invent any kind of justification to tell the victim why the victim had been badly treated and that the victim deserves the bad treatment.
Annie Brook was so kind and offered me a scholarship for her online course. I had found out that were many people with scholarships (including the people Annie Brook wanted me to work with them as with "therapists").
I have felt very grateful toward Annie Brook.
Annie Brook had written me an e-mail that I can get the scholarship, but only if I will work with a therapist who she is training.
I felt obligated to do so because Annie Brook was so kind to give me a scholarship price for her online courses.
The experience with the first therapist was was not that good:
It took her 6 weeks to schedule a session with me.
She was constantly losing my e-mails or she had to prepare for Easter etc.
Finally the session might have been helpful as this lady seem to be nice, however she needed to direct the question of my physical sorrow that I came with into implanting into me these words: " I am in double bind" .
Double bind is seen as a way of miscommunication, usually with intention to manipulate the other. Usually people with personality disorders use this deliberate way of miscommunication.
It was as well forcefully pushed on to me that apparently " I am as well in power struggle" etc.
Not sure what it should have ment.
I wanted my somatic approach, I wanted an attention to my body.
I wrote to this lady that I have the feeling that she does not want to work with me because she had these troubles to schedule a session with me.
She responded (this time immediately, no need to wait for weeks) that I am mistaken and that IT MUST BE SO HARD FOR ME TO FEEL THE FEELINGS OF OTHERS and being persuaded that I know that they feel these feelings even thought this is not really what she feels.
Another phantasmagory.
Or attempt of iatrogen damage by trying to mind control me or move into some mental disease ?
I had never given Annie Brook nor anybody from her stuff a permission to play a therapist for me, not at all to try to invent some diagnosis or mental diseases about me.
I had told and written to Annie Brook that I search for a somatic therapy.
Annie Brook had also never revealed to me what she is going to do behind my back.
Later, I found out that Annie Brook offers a program for therapist who she trains.
That was in the time I paid her money.
Later Annie Brook changed it that anybody can be this "trainee". A coach, a therapist that is not registered, not licensed (basically anybody).
I had only the information by Annie Brook that she trains therapists and that once she will train them, she will let me know.
To my surprise the first therapist was a lady who did the same online course just couple of months before me !
However, I was not told by Annie Brook that these so called therapists in training often have no education in psychology, possibly as well no experience with psychotherapy whatsoever and if, then very little experience.
The more, these" therapists" were not somatic therapist. The have just done the same online course I did….and in that course there was no somatic therapy.
Additionally, these "therapists" had to negotiate the price with the client.
I did not know it that I would be subjected to this as I had made clear to Annie Brook that I actually do not search for any therapist, I am only searching for some somatic approach for my body and if there would be any PERSON EXPERIENCED in somatic approach, I could only pay the lowest price at this moment.
Much later, I found out that Annie Brook had a contract with these so called therapist that she will find clients for them. They paid her money for this.
It started to make sense for me why I received the scholarship and why Annie so badly wanted me to do the sessions with these so called therapist.
She needed to hook me in order to have somebody for her so called therapist.
Annie just forgot to inform me about this fact and about what it all is about.
Meanwhile Annie Brook wanted me to get in contact with a second therapist.
I wanted to do what Annie Brook said because she was so kind and offered me the scholarship.
This lady sent all my e-mails as copy to Annie Brook.
I asked her after this and she could have not explain it.
The therapist told me that she is not licensed, not registered therapist, she can only work as a coach.
I asked her whether it is not unethical when she is with me in the same online course (she has just started as me) and when I am listening to her personal stories, seeing her family on video and she told me that it is not a problem for her.
I asked her what kind of therapy modality it is Annie Brook uses as I have not noticed any somatic therapy approach so far.
She could have not responded to me and she became visibly angry.
She told me suddenly in a way that was more like a threatening me that if I I will want to commit a suicide or kill an elder (not sure where she had found an elder for me), she will be obligated to contact police ((despite she was a coach).
Police in the US ? I live in far far eastern countries and I have never been to the US nor do I sadly understand the "online courses industry" there.
Here was again the attempt to try to talk me into suicide. Repeating again and again that I want apparently commit a suicide, especially when I am physically sick, can lead to implanting these thoughts into brain and cause a brain traumatic injury. It could as well lead to the thought that the person will start to believe this implanted thought and actually do commit a suicide.
Peter Levine speaks about it how harmful it is.
Yes it works!
Thank you.
huh uhh ?
I have no idea what she’s talking about
Yes it works immensely! For those who struggle with chronic anxiety or anger issues or just have the occasional negative feelings somatic therapy and mindfulness practices are the way to heal from traumas and find peace once and for all
🙏❣️✌️
+TEDx *Thanks for an example case of somatic therapy.* As an autist, I’ve a compromised interoceptive network, am uncertain about the effectiveness of SE. Occasionally have pangs from the rib cage; have limbs go numb from sustaining pressure the wrong way.
Attacked by four people, (police), hit on the head with a brick, that’s a coincidence!! But I still don’t know what somatic healing is…
Thanks so much for presenting this and sharing your story as well as how to start unraveling the effects of trauma. I use SE in my therapy practice and I often wish more people knew how to use this wonderful processing machine that the body can be. Great share.
1:53 hang on there lady, you were driving while drunk? 🤨
Anyone know a somatic therapists on YouTube that are on point like this ???
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Were you drunk driving??!!
Powerful, emotionally riveting talk. You are a beautiful human being! Thank you!
Thank you.
I watched my wonderful dad crash his racing motorbike in front of me at over 100mph in 1977. He survived but this has affected my whole life since. Have just found a somatic therapist to help me. God bless you 🙏
"Help is on the way…but you are not alone. Help will come." I will carry this with me. Thank you!
As a first responder, i have a problem with the way she describes the hospital staff in a way that is traumatizing when they were trying to save her life. How about a thank you. The reason youre here today isnt peter Levine, its the first responders.
So powerful. Congratulations on your recovery and all the people you’re helping including me with sharing your experience.
What a blessing you met the therapist.
Look up Functional Integration; a phrase coined by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, 1904-1984. Thomas Hanna, 1921-1990. Essential Somatics channel with Martha Peterson.
Thank you.
I like her example of connecting to someone ELSE who has just experienced a shock to reduce their risk of ongoing trauma (look up ‘trauma informed care’) but the rest of the talk is only very light touch on the hows and whys of trauma release and somatic therapies.
There is a lot of free information out there though if you want to know more, e.g.:
– Peter Levine is a good speaker himself with lots of videos on youtube.
-‘TRE’ is a more in-depth look at trauma releasing exercises or tremoring, also some examples on youtube,
– some Qi Gong bouncing and swaying moves relate too, (traditional yoga has a lot of trauma healing aspects too – Indigenous and Eastern medicine traditions that don’t arbitrarily separate mind and body for no reason have understood this stuff for a long time)
the whole ‘release’ process is something felt in the body so it’s hard to ‘get’ what happens without actually doing it and feeling the point where the nervous system shifts.
The key goal is to find or get back to a state of ease in the autonomic nervous system – mostly via connection to safe calm humans and/or the now safe sensory details of the new present moment. Finding a ‘felt-sense of safety in the body’, as per Stephen Porges and Poly-vagal theory. Getting access to a ‘safe and social’ AKA ‘rest and digest’ state that is best for healing and ordinary unthreatening circumstances. Finding a point in the body that feels at ease is a step towards this if stuck in trauma mode in other parts of you.
If you have any fight or flight energy that you couldn’t use in the moment of feeling a threat, you need to shake it out (or run, or swing your arms around, jump etc) to complete that survival movement, at some point, to let your mind and body relax again fully. It’s not always obvious how to link the body movement up to the psychological side, to make it last, so it’s good to get professional help, especially if it’s deep and layered, or been a long time…
Good luck all
Most of people suffer of minnimum wage trauma. You people don’t know sh.. basicly
Are humans really becoming this fragile?!….. for God’s sake… man up…. we are built to hunt beasts and overcome harsh environmental conditions and survive environmental calamities…..
as I watch this video, I say a prayer,
I pray for health, for wealth, and for love…
Ok great, but HOW DO I DO IT? I thought I was at least going to get a taste.
None of Peter Levine’s techniques work for me. None of them. Pete Walker’s stuff however, has helped me genuinely start healing
She wasn’t drinking if you listen she was coming from rock climbing .. she admitted she was at fault and wasn’t drinking but that the hospital made the assumption she may have been under the influence… listen you may hear what happened
Her presence and authenticity is charming
lol
Ya how much????
My dad didn’t even let me tremble
Bravo well said in a short time what somatic experiencing is. This canhelp everyone on such a deep level. Hats off to Peter Levine as well, gounder of somatic experiencing ❤.Thank you for sharing , so powerful n yet so simple 🎉
Thank-you.
Right.
The doctor on duty when my baby was born (nurses did the actual delivery) commanded me to stop shaking afterwards, so I did what I could to resist. I thought leaning in felt less tense, less painful. Could that resistance be a (small) piece of why that specific experience got stuck?
She sucks bad as a speaker
You almost killed people with careless driving and this whole speech is about you and your suffering
4:30
6:50
10:00
So what do you do when your trauma is from a major physical event where doctors ignore most of your physical injuries including 4 broken lumbar vertebrae, that leads to chronic pain and depression due to the chronic pain?