Trauma, mainly, our response to trauma is experienced and held in the body, our tissue which leads to shaping our emotional experience as well as the cognitive stories we tell ourselves about what's happened in our life. Mind-body approaches,  and Bottom-Up modalities in psychotherapy has facilitated a greater understanding of our nervous system and highlighted important routes to processing traumatic experiences in our body and regulating our nervous system. ​

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One very important psychotherapeutic modality is Somatic Experiencing, developed by Peter Levine, PhD in the 1960's which aims to restore the body's ability to process trauma and return the nervous system to its regulated state.

 

It utilizes our own perception of our body's sensations, increasing our ability to be with the uncomfortable sensations, the distressing emotions and negative beliefs that are often coupled in our experience of ourselves due to having experienced trauma in our life. It invites and supports our own ability to see ourselves mindfully as we allow our bodies to release the held protective and defensive action that is often stored in our body due to traumatic experiences. 

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Utilizing mindful/slow paced techniques that bring about the release and the trust in our own body's ability to heal this held fear response, new empowered perspectives and experiences of ourselves can emerge.