Clare Plumley

Somatic Experiencing and Ecosomatics Practitioner

Attention without feeling, I began to learn, is only a report. An openness - an empathy - was necessary if the attention was to matter” ~ Mary Oliver

Our attention is the most valuable thing that we have. Learning to attune to what is internal in addition to the external enables us to access our deep intent and excavate untapped emotions. Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a nuanced, gentle and powerful way into the felt sense, based on the observation and empathic noticing of our physiological responses. 

SE addresses stuck places in the body and how trauma shows up in the nervous system. Whilst the original event or experience is in the past, sometimes our bodies retain this and we react to things as if it’s happening now and we’re still in danger. I’m trained to recognise when your nervous system is in or entering states of fight, flight and freeze and support you to move through and discharge some of the stored survival stress that sits below them.  

In Somatic Experiencing we are inviting the body to speak its mind. Many of us are familiar with bodily cues such as sweaty palms or butterflies in our stomach, increased saliva around desire for food etc. My role is to extend your body’s vocabulary and literacy beyond these to recognise the first indications that something might be very wrong, very right or lying somewhere in between, to unearth your instinct so that you can create more body aligned decisions, boundaries or openings.

"The land knows you, even when you are lost” ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer

I have chosen to work here at The Open Door because of the beautiful walled garden next door. In addition to SE I offer ecosomatics which is a blend of SE and ecotherapy, we can do that outside in the garden or in one of the therapy rooms with one of my sensory nature boxes. The human and earth body, our ecological wellbeing are entwined. Being in and with nature can alert us to the places of aliveness which reside within all of us, but which might have been dampened down by the everyday injuries of the dominant culture, our personal and collective trauma. Nature can bring us back to our sense of vitality.

What is Somatic Experiencing and what happens in a session?

“Somatic Experiencing ® helps to create physiological, sensate and affective states that transform those of fear and helplessness. It does this by accessing various instinctual reactions through one’s awareness of physical body sensations.” ~ In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter A. Levine PhD 

Somatic Experiencing was developed by Peter Levine around 50 years ago, he wrote one of only two books at the time on trauma, it was in part a response to his observation of the fight, flight, freeze response in animals and how they release survival stress. There’s a growing awareness now that a body/mind split doesn’t always serve our health, SE works toward building whole body coherence.

SE is set up like talking therapy, ie it’s seated, we sit opposite each other and you share (mostly verbally) what’s happening for you in your body. But it’s less about story, more about the body’s account of events, addressing those stuck places which can be hard to access via more cognitive therapies. I observe the nuance and subtledly of changes in the body that usually go un-noticed, these provide clues and prompts for following sensations, underneath which lie emotions. Emphasis is on accessing sensation which enables the meaning to come from the body rather than established thinking patterns. 

We work with challenges whilst also doing lots of resourcing: ie accessing parts of your body or experiences which feel comfortable and supportive. This all helps to expand the body’s capacity to be with life’s difficulties and it’s joys. It’s a slow process, our systems are very sensitive so it needs patience and care. I titrate the process, which means dropping in small pieces of the challenge amongst plenty of resourcing. I use pendulation which is a technique that keeps your nervous system from getting too stuck or flooded, by going back and forth between things which nourish and support your system and those which might overstimulate or activate it. This helps promote an adaptive nervous system with more capacity to hold life’s complexities. 

My personal experience of SE as both a client and practitioner is that whilst situated firmly in the body it’s very creative and dynamic, can be full of metaphor and meaning making. And whilst we can set out to work on a particular challenge or condition the body has it’s own wisdom around what memories or experiences it chooses to bring. And it tends to bring what it’s ready to in that moment, so whilst I carefully guide what emerges, that guidance comes from a place of trust in your body’s intelligence and readiness to bring forth what it’s ready to work with. 

Ecosomatics: blending SE with ecotherapy

“Trauma is not what happens to us. But what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.” ~ Dr Levine

We generally seek co-regulation with a human other, particularly when that has been lacking from an early caregiver, but depending on your neurotype or circumstances that might not always be available to you. In an increasingly individualised society we don’t all have an empathic witness to our lives so whilst we’re in the process of growing that for ourselves and/or with others (personally, collectively or in therapeutic relationships) it can help to access the ‘more than human’ ecological and elemental forces that we are so fortunate to live alongside and amongst. And from an environmental perspective our co-regulation with nature places us as a responsible part of the whole.

In an ecosomatics session I will ask you to find a place, plant or element to engage with, one which attracts your attention, we will explore the qualities of that using SE techniques until sensations start to arise within your body and then the SE process begins as outlined in the section above. The advantage of working outdoors is that our bodies may ease in proximity to nature which can create a softening and the resource is already there meaning we don’t need to conjure it up, allowing emotion to surface more quickly or meaning making to come through. This is relational work, cultivating a deeper relationship with the living world can be particularly supportive when working with something big like grief or loss, so that you’re not holding it alone outside of our sessions, you’ll be able to tap into your natural environs for support. 

Adjacent to The Open Door is a picturesque walled garden, whilst open to the public it is mostly very quiet and feels quite private with a small secluded cluster of trees to one side. This is where we will practise ecosomatics. We may of course be distracted by people, animals etc entering the garden, this can work to our advantage at times as it brings in something new to be worked with and we do live in an unpredictable world, but I will also book a room so there is a choice to be indoors if it’s a busy people or wild weather day, or if the distraction is unwelcome. I have a sensory nature box we can use indoors. 

I have an animist world view which feeds both my SE and art practise, so whilst I work with the body and physiology I’m always looking to resource with the aliveness of all that’s both around us and in us. In terms of wellness my explorations are not just for the health and sustenance of humans but for that of our ‘more than human’ kin too. Encouraging kinship with nature not only gives us a greater sense of belonging and wellbeing but also makes it harder for us to continue to do/witness harm to the natural world.

About me

I’ve been an artist educator and an arts for health practitioner with a focus on the felt sense for 25 years. I’ve witnessed how embodiment embedded in the arts supports vulnerable adults. I trained as an SEP as I wanted to drop deeper into somatic practice to address the trauma that at times surfaced in groupwork, particularly within marginalised communities. I’m AuDHD and have lived with chronic pain for 20 years, it is also these sensitivities which brought me to SE, to help me with interoceptive skills and to inhabit a sensitive body in a world which can be jarring. It has helped me to drop deeper into my own felt sense and body, been deeply validating and brought shifts in how I move and relate to and with the human and natural world.

I offer one to one Somatic Experiencing and Ecosomatics here at The Open Door, in Hove and online. I also work with groups offering workshops and community sessions. I’ve developed sessions around touch and intimacy with nature for groups of autistic adults incorporating the arts, created content around eco-emotions and climate grief. Adjacent to my SE practise I have a somatically informed art practise.

To book a free 20 minute video call please email clare@clareplumley.co.uk and we can see if we’d be a good fit.

My website is www.clareplumley.co.uk and instagram:@interpl8

“When the asleep body, numb and deadened to the world of the senses, awakens, it is a resurrection that reveals to us that love is stronger than death.” ~ Bell Hooks “All About Love”