Crisis Counselors from Somatic Experiencing® International Arrive in South Louisiana to Aid with Individual and Community Recovery from Hurricane Ida

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As the effects of Hurricane Ida and COVID-19 continue to impact lives throughout the Louisiana Bayou, a team of crisis counselors skilled in the

Somatic Experiencing (SEtm) method of trauma healing and resolution has arrived in south Louisiana to serve local organizations involved in helping both individuals and the community recover from the lingering effects of the trauma associated with Hurricane Ida.

The team is led by Amie Leigh, director of public health initiatives for Somatic Experiencing International (SEI), a U.S.-based organization that has been providing access to advanced wellness skills in trauma resolution for over 26 years by educating therapists and mental health practitioners. Across the globe, Somatic Experiencing has come to be considered a leading edge neurobiological therapy for trauma response and resolution, with a community of nearly 140,000 trained professionals in SE principles. The SE therapeutic model incorporates a bodily response to the healing process rather than relying solely on thoughts or emotions associated with a stressful event or lifelong trauma.

Seven professionals trained in the SE method are providing SE-informed crisis intervention and crisis stabilization in south Louisiana, together with several local massage therapists and SE students. These trained professionals are therapists, mental health counselors, and experienced disaster response professionals from across the United States. All are volunteering their time for this effort.

"Serving in emergency situations has been part of our culture for decades," said Paul Beverly, director of business development and fundraising. "The Somatic Experiencing method has been used to help bring those in crisis to a place of reconnection and re-engagement with the present. Our Crisis Stabilization and Safety (CSS) program is designed to equip responders with the SE therapeutic tools they need to help others feel secure in both a physical and communal way. Our team of trained mental health practitioners is providing mobile crisis counseling, as well as crisis stabilization and safety resourcing sessions for the community."

"There has never been a more important time in human history for us to reach beyond our therapeutic clinical settings and get out into the world, in the field, in the trenches, where people are directly experiencing crisis and distress at a critical moment," said Leigh. "We are all about making a tactical and practical real difference for real people." 

The team will be on-site in various communities December 10-15. 

About Somatic Experiencing International:
Somatic Experiencing International is the leading authority on the SEtm method and is a major provider of training and educational programs. SE is a body-oriented therapeutic model that helps heal trauma and other stress disorders. Developed by Peter Levine, Ph.D., it is the result of the multidisciplinary study of neuroscience, stress physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, with more than 45 years of successful clinical application. SE International is a 50l(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1994. It is based in Boulder, Colorado, with trained Somatic Experiencing Practitioners (SEPs) in 40 countries. 

SOURCE Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute