Somatic Psychology, Trauma Therapy
Peter Levine
Esalen Institute; Somatic Experiencing International · 1942–
Key work
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (1997)
What they contributed
Levine developed Somatic Experiencing (SE), a trauma resolution approach based on his observation that animals in the wild rarely develop PTSD despite frequent life-threatening encounters — because they discharge the incomplete defensive responses (fight, flight, freeze) through body-based completion. Levine proposed that human trauma results from the inability to complete these defensive responses, leaving them locked in the body as chronic physiological activation. His approach addresses this directly through body sensation.
Why it matters here
Levine's work provides the somatic mechanism behind why freeze responses, undercharging, procrastination, and people-pleasing are not primarily psychological in nature — they are incomplete physiological defensive patterns. His concept of titration (small, manageable contact with difficult sensation) guides the somatic practices in this body of work.
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