Paul Chubbuck, M.S., S.E.P.
Releasing The past
How would your life change if you could release the past?
A Somatic Experiencing session
Somatic work means "body-centered". That is not "touch-therapy", nor massage. Nor is it "talk-therapy" in the normal sense. Fortunately, we do not have to talk about your problems for five years for you to feel better. There is a better way.
Whether on the phone or in person, I will invite you to share with me what is on your mind...what is troubling you. I offer a compassionate ear, because I know what it is like to suffer, to not have your life working the way you need it to. And I respect your courage in wanting to change and asking for help. And at every appropriate opportunity, I will assist you in becoming more aware of your moment-by-moment physical experience, of your sensations. My teachers and my life experience has taught me that this is the most immediate path to healing. When you are present to your bodily experience, your nervous system can discharge pent-up tension left over from past experiences that were too difficult for you to deal with at that time. The more of that I can help you to discharge, the better you will feel.
Remembering what animals never forgot
Think of an animal in the wild — a deer, for example. It may be calmly eating grass one moment at the edge of a meadow, and running for its life from wolves the next. Imagine if that happened to you! That would be pretty traumatic, having a bunch of thugs determined to catch, kill, and eat you. Yet if the deer escapes, within minutes, it will be back to normal life, not traumatized. Those who have been able to closely observe wild animals notice that during the time immediately following such a chase, that the deer will "discharge" that powerful "flight-fight" energy by twitching, jumping, running around vigorously, even making some noise or head-butting some of its own kind in mock-battle. It is only after such discharge that the deer returns to normal. Were it not for this ability to rapidly discharge excess survival energy, the animal's ability to meet future threats would be reduced and they would not long survive in the wild.
We humans have a large cerebral cortex, our thinking and intellectual brains, which the deer lacks. While valuable for problem-solving, thinking fails us in recovering from loss or trauma because an entirely different part of the brain is in charge, the reptilian brain, which is devoted to our survival. Thinking and social expectations frequently inhibit the expression and "discharging" of emotions which would help us rapidly get our lives back to normal. But fortunately, like the deer, we still have the lower "survival-oriented" brain, and we can remember or re-learn how to allow ourselves to discharge that pent-up survival energy.
A Somatic Experiencing session is not a technical process, not a visit to the repair shop. In fact it often feels quite magical, as I help you remember that, deep inside you, your body and nervous system already knows how to do this.
Resourcing remembering how to feel good in your world
Five year old Anya comes running and sobbing in from the backyard. Her Mother holds her. For a while she is inconsolable and beyond words. Then, between cycles of crying, she tells how her friend Annie grabbed her favorite doll. When Anya tried to get it back, Annie pushed her down hard. Telling the story brings back the strong feelings again. Her body shakes and her legs kick in anger. She sobs deeply again for a few breaths, then cuddles into her Mother's lap. After each cycle of feeling, she is calmer. Her Mother listens, comforts, and holds Anya. A short time later, Anya loses interest in the incident and is happy to say “yes” when her Mom asks if she'd like to help fix dinner.
Anya's Mother “resourced” her by helping her to feel safe and accepted. Anya felt her Mother's warmth against her own body and the pleasure of her Mother's calming voice. This allowed Anya's innate healing response to move through her body and complete. Her anger, sense of betrayal, and fear were discharged with shaking, kicking, and tears. This is not likely to be an incident which Anya carries into a troubled adulthood.
But what if her Mother had been impatient, blaming, shaming, or simply not there? With no safe place to feel those powerful feelings and sensations, Anya's survival-oriented brain would have had to freeze or numb to some degree to avoid overstressing the body with prolonged, unrelieved high emotion. If this were a repeated pattern, Anya would likely have been traumatized and she might, as an adult, have some of the symptoms described elsewhere on this site.
Resourcing as an adult it's never too late to have a happy childhood
"Thank you for all your help in the past year. I wanted to schedule a 'tune-up' and also just kind of sit down and tell you what a hell of a job you've done with me."
As an adult, you may not be held like Anya as you sob, but that is not necessary. You can learn effective ways to feel powerful, confident, safe, calm, resourced and, yes, even happy! Learning these powerful ways to feel good is an important part of what happens in a Somatic Experiencing session. Taking this learning to heart and practicing it in your daily life will gradually transform your life experience in remarkably positive ways.
"Before I came to Paul for therapy, my life seemed to be controlled by my emotional reaction to every situation that triggered uncomfortable past memories. Now when a situation brings that emotion to the forefront, I am able to feel it and quickly dismiss it."
