Dr Peter A. Levine
Witness Somatic Experiencing® in Living Practice
Three live demonstrations with Dr Peter A. Levine, together with his clinical reflections and in-depth case consultation
Some things cannot be fully understood through theory alone. They need to be witnessed.
In these remarkable recordings, Dr Peter A. Levine works directly with three people in live demonstrations, allowing us to observe Somatic Experiencing® as it unfolds moment by moment.
We are invited to sit alongside Peter: to notice how he listens, what draws his attention, when he intervenes, when he waits and how he follows the subtle language of the nervous system. Following each demonstration, Peter reflects on the work through case consultation and teaching, opening another layer of understanding into the clinical choices shaping the session.
Watch in your own time. Return to the sessions. Study the subtleties.
A rare opportunity to witness the work
Rather than only hearing Peter describe his approach, these recordings offer a close view of the living practice behind more than fifty years of his exploration of trauma, healing and the innate intelligence of the body.
Peter's work is not a formula. Attention moves between sensation, gesture, emotion, image, memory, movement and relationship. Sometimes the smallest shift becomes significant: a breath, a movement of the hand, a change in posture, a moment of hesitation or an impulse that has been waiting to complete itself.
Peter follows these openings with curiosity, allowing the body - rather than a predetermined therapeutic agenda - to reveal where the work is ready to go.
Learning to see what Peter sees
Following each demonstration, Peter shares what he was perceiving and responding to throughout the process. The case consultations allow us to consider not only what happened, but how his understanding of the nervous system informed his pacing, timing and therapeutic presence.
Across the recordings, you can observe how Peter works with:
- 01
the subtle organisation of the autonomic nervous system
- 02
sensation, movement and incomplete defensive responses
- 03
activation while protecting the person from overwhelm
- 04
moments of orientation, settling and emerging regulation
- 05
imagery, memory and embodied experience
- 06
pacing, timing and therapeutic presence
- 07
the unexpected directions that emerge when the body is allowed to lead
This is not a demonstration of a perfect sequence of interventions. It is an opportunity to witness a deeply experienced practitioner remain curious about the person before him and responsive to what unfolds.
Study the subtleties
The teaching between the moments
Some of the most valuable teaching can be found between the obvious moments: in Peter's pauses, in the questions he chooses not to ask, in where his attention settles and in the time he allows something to emerge before moving forward.
The recordings allow practitioners to slow the work down and return to details that can disappear in the immediacy of a live session.
Watch once for the unfolding story.
Return to notice the body.
Watch Peter's pacing.
Notice the relationship.
Listen for what changes.
Each viewing may reveal something different.
Somatic Experiencing®
From theory into living practice
Somatic Experiencing® offers a profound understanding of trauma through physiology and the nervous system. Seeing that understanding embodied within a real therapeutic relationship brings the work into another dimension.
Concepts that may be familiar intellectually become visible as responsive, relational processes shaped by the person, the moment and what the nervous system is ready to reveal. For clinicians and practitioners, this is an opportunity to deepen clinical perception. For students of somatic work, it offers a bridge between learning the principles and recognising them in a therapeutic encounter.
Australian masterclass · May 2026
The power of witnessing together
These demonstrations took place during Peter Levine's extraordinary Australian masterclass in May 2026, surrounded by a community of Somatic Experiencing® practitioners. The room became part of the experience: attentive, curious and still, collectively witnessing as each session unfolded.
A recording cannot completely recreate being present in the room. It can, however, allow something important from that gathering to continue travelling outward - giving many more people the opportunity to encounter Peter's work in its living, relational form.
Who these recordings are for
This collection will be especially valuable for:
- Somatic Experiencing® students, practitioners and assistants
- psychotherapists, psychologists, counsellors and trauma practitioners
- clinicians wanting to refine their observation, pacing and therapeutic presence
- practitioners interested in how body, memory, imagery and relationship meet in trauma work
- anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Peter Levine's approach in practice
Participant reflections
Reflections from the room
Thanks for bringing Peter Levine here! It was very meaningful to have had this opportunity in Melbourne so close to home.
I am so grateful that you brought Peter Levine to Australia & I feel incredibly grateful for my dream session with him :)
Dr Peter A. Levine
An invitation to look more closely
These recordings are not simply something to watch once. They are an invitation to study the subtleties of therapeutic presence.
Pause. Return. Notice what you missed the first time.
Listen to Peter's reflections after each session and then revisit the demonstration with new eyes. Become curious not only about what Peter does, but about how he sees. Perhaps one of the greatest teachings within these sessions is not a particular intervention at all, but learning to listen more deeply to the intelligence already present in the body.
EXPERIENCE THE CASE CONSULTATION