Writing On Trauma Through The SE Lens

I recommend these two books if you’d like to learn from the female perspective. Both are by women who studied the Somatic Experiencing (SE) approach with my teachers. Both offer practical tools for somatic healing from stress and trauma, and explain the art and science of Somatic Experiencing while incorporating their personal stories.

The Mind-Body Stress Reset; Somatic Practices to Reduce Overwhelm and Increase Well-Being, by Rebekkah LaDyne

LaDyne carefully lays out a research-based protocol to re-set your baseline response to stress. A yoga and meditation instructor plagued by stress and anxiety, LaDyne entered grad school to study mind-body medicine and to find answers for herself. Her grad research (and her study of SE) lead her to develop the protocol that she calls Mind-Body Reset (MBR). She organizes the book around four tools for self-regulation: Rhythmic Breathing, Seeing & Sensing, Imaging, and Movement, with exercises sprinkled throughout the lessons.

I like how LaDyne writes conversationally, normalizing her own struggles and those of her research subjects. Breaking down the tools into step-by-step instructions makes the material accessible. The section on movement includes stretches gentle enough to support vagal tone and begin moving out of freeze.

Call of the Wild; How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It for Good, by Kimberly Ann Johnson

Not just a self-help tome, this is Johnson’s clarion Call to healing into feeling better, feeling more, and valuing our feeling of pleasure. While her simplified and re-packaged elements of Somatic Experiencing will mark her brand as special, I believe Johnson truly shines in later chapters. Beyond educating on nervous system self-regulation, she calls the reader into her “inner jaguar” —- the jaguar, a symbol in Brazil where Johnson lived, gaining wisdom through suffering birth injury and isolation. A birth doula, sex educator and bodyworker, Johnson wrote The Fourth Trimester as a post-partum health guide, and she leads “Jaguar” groups in feminine and sexual empowerment. She’s especially clear about reclaiming predator energy, for moving people out of freeze. It’s this kind of healthy aggression that’s championed in SE, and Johnson ties it in with Porges’ social engagement system as she tackles boundaries, attachment, and sex.

A summary of body practices at the end of the book is helpful for quick reference.