The SE Model for working with categories of trauma groups types of traumatic experiences together according to the similarity of the physiological disturbances in the body. It teaches practitioners Somatic Experiencing interventions to support client’s nervous system to renegotiate trapped survival energy and restore health and wellbeing.
Categories of trauma from an SE framework:
- Physical trauma, surgery, burns, medical interventions, posioning
- High impact: motor vehicle accidents, falls
- Pre-peri natal, fetal distress, birth trauma
- Surgery, anaesthesia , high fevers and medical procedures
- Inescapable attack: animal attack, violence, rape, sexual abuse
- Drowning, suffocation and choking experiences
- Natural and man made disasters: Covid 19, earthquake, cyclones, floods, fires
- Horror: torture, ritual abuse, war and terrorism
- Emotional and domestic abuse, bullying
- Bereavement, divorce, loss of a loved one or a pet
- Development trauma such as childhood neglect, abandonment or betrayal
- Natural disasters, fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis,
- Horror includes being a witness to any of the above
“Different categories of trauma often have certain hallmarks that give us indicators for where to focus in the trauma re-negotiation process. The material learned in Beginning year will be applied in the Intermediate year in the specific context of different categories of trauma, thus bringing a more complete understanding of the variety of interventions that are possible through the SE building blocks.” SE Intermediate year handbook.
