What Influences the Duration of Somatic Experiencing® Therapy?
A frequently asked question in my practice about Somatic Experiencing® is how many sessions are needed to experience lasting change. Unfortunately there is no serious, uniform answer to this. The duration of therapy depends on various factors — in particular on the nature and depth of the trauma experienced and the inner resources available to you.
How Many Sessions for Acute Trauma?
A small, acute trauma — such as a fall from a bicycle — can sometimes be worked through in just a few sessions.
How Many Sessions for Chronic Trauma?
Chronic, deeply rooted trauma, on the other hand, often requires more time in order to be processed on a safe and stable basis. This also includes the fact that in working through a fall, a forgotten childhood experience with a similar pattern can emerge — but in a chronic form. For example: “Nobody comes when I need help.”
Why Is Your Own Pace Important in the Healing Process?
It is important that each person works at their own pace. In my practice I accompany you in gradually strengthening your inner resources and finding healing in your own unique rhythm.
Lasting Change Through Somatic Experiencing®
The goal is not to move through the process as quickly as possible, but to create a safe space in which you feel supported on enough levels to allow change. In this way the improvements are lasting and stable. The number of sessions is therefore individual and follows the personal path of healing.
Steps in the Healing Process: From “Things Are Getting Better” to “Everything Is All Right Again”
What is encouraging is that between the current difficulty and the future goal of “everything being all right again”, there lie many valuable in-between steps of “things are getting better” or “something is allowed to change”. These ongoing improvements make the healing process tangible and allow you to experience and acknowledge progress even while you are still on the way.
