Somatic Experiencing — Information & Videos
Somatic Experiencing International — Information about this body-mind approach to resolving trauma.
What’s involved in a Somatic Experiencing session?
Somatic Experiencing: using interception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy — Peter Levine. A good description of a five-session Somatic Experiencing treatment of a single-incident trauma (auto accident).
Somatic Experiencing: A note on working with anger in the context of an SE session — Raja Selvam & Lori Parker.
Why you can’t think your way out of trauma — Albert Wong. Explains how somatic psychotherapy is different than Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).
Somatic Experiencing Videos:
A Summary of Trauma and Somatic Experiencing — Dr. Peter Levine (6 min).
Nature’s Lessons in Healing Trauma: An Introduction to Somatic Experiencing — (27 min).
Somatic Experiencing — Ray’s Story — Discussion and treatment demonstration by Dr. Peter Levine (25 min).
Trauma and the Nervous System: A Polyvagal Perspective (9 min)
Helplines & Free Phone Counselling
9-8-8 - National helpline for anyone across Canada who is thinking about suicide, or who is worried about someone they know. Responders are trained to listen and provide help without judgement. Call or text 9-8-8 toll-free.
Here 24/7 - A phone line that provides mental health crisis support on a 24-hour basis. Also acts as an intake point for mental health services in Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo. 1-844-437-3247.
Good2Talk - Free phone counselling and referrals for Ontario post-secondary students. 1-866-925-5454.
Hope for Wellness Helpline - Offers immediate mental health counselling and crisis support to Indigenous people across Canada on a 24-hour basis. Also offers information on wellness supports available locally. Phone counselling available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. 1-855-242-3310.
Free & Sliding Scale Psychotherapy
LOCAL:
Here 24/7 - The intake point for mental health services in Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo. A phone line that provides mental health crisis support on a 24-hour basis. 1-844-437-3247.
Camino Well-being & Mental Health — Kitchener
Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo-Wellington — DBT program is offered (intake is through Here 24/7).
Compass Community Services — Guelph, Fergus, Mount Forest. Offers pay-what-you-can counselling, including walk-in counselling on Wednesdays. EMDR therapy is offered. Previously known as the Family Counselling and Support Services of Guelph-Wellington.
Counselling Collaborative of Waterloo Region
Delton Glebe Counselling Centre — Waterloo
Porchlight — Cambridge & North Dumfries
Interfaith Counselling Centre — New Hamburg & Kitchener
KW Counselling — Kitchener
Shalom Counselling Services — Waterloo
Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology — University of Guelph
Woolwich Counselling — Elmira
NORTH AMERICA:
Trauma-Informed Meditation & Mindfulness
Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management - Trauma-informed mindfulness meditation courses — tailored to individuals with chronic pain and a history of trauma — are offered in several cities and towns in Ontario. Some courses are fully or partially covered by OHIP.
Mindfulness in Arabic - A free, trauma-informed, 8-week online mindfulness course designed for Arabic-speaking refugees.
Parents & Children — Videos
"Window of Tolerance" — Short video explaining how children move into a state of fight/flight or freeze/collapse, and how parents can support children to move back into their “window of tolerance.”
Books
Trauma & Somatic Experiencing — General Audience
Healing Trauma — Peter Levine
Beyond the Trauma Vortex Into the Healing Vortex — Gina Ross
Somatic Psychotherapy — for Mental Health Professionals
Somatic-Oriented Therapies: Embodiment, Trauma, and Polyvagal Perspectives — Textbook, edited by Stephen W. Porges, H. Grassmann, & M. Stupiggia.
Trauma — for Mental Health Professionals
Healing Developmental Trauma — Laurence Heller & Aline LaPierre
Trauma and Memory — Peter Levine
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma — Peter Levine
In An Unspoken Voice — Peter Levine
Trauma and Recovery — Judith Herman
The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel Van Der Kolk
Trauma & Chronic Pain
Freedom From Pain — Peter Levine & Maggie Phillips
Trauma & Children
Trauma-Proofing Your Kids — Peter Levine & Maggie Kline
Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes — Peter Levine & Maggie Kline
Parenting From the Inside Out — Daniel Siegel
Racial, Cultural, & Historical Trauma
My Grandmother’s Hands — Resmaa Menakem
Attachment Styles & Romantic Relationships
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment — Amir Levine & Rachel Heller
Depression
The Mindful Way Through Depression — Mark Williams
Research
United States Association for Body Psychotherapy
The Evidence Base for Body Psychotherapy — Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and research articles.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) International
SE Research and Resources — Videos of Somatic Experiencing sessions. Articles and research on PTSD treatment; attachment work; and other topics.
Research Articles
Somatic experiencing – effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: a scoping literature review — A review of 83 research studies on Somatic Experiencing therapy. Also describes Somatic Experiencing trauma treatment, and gives a list of what makes body-oriented psychotherapy different from talk therapy.