Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Somatic experiencing is based on the understanding that symptoms of trauma are the result of a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) whose inherent capacity to self-regulate is undermined by trauma. Somatic experiencing bases its approach on mammals' ability to automatically regulate survival responses from the primitive, non-verbal brain, mediated by the autonomic nervous system. In the wild, animals spontaneously "discharge" this excess energy once safe. Involuntary movements such as shaking, trembling and deep spontaneous breaths reset the ANS and restore equilibrium. Somatic experiencing restores this capacity to self-regulate by facilitating the release of energy and natural survival reactions stored during a traumatic event. According to founder Peter Levine, "Trauma lives in the body, not the event."
The Body Psychotherapy concentration delves deeply into the history of the use of the body in counseling and psychotherapy as well as the current explorations in the field of mental health that are recognizing the critical importance of the body/mind connection in healing, learning, and growth. As one of the first universities to establish a graduate somatic counseling program, we offer a rich and rigorous curriculum in which you will holistically explore—and experience—how the body can be used to help people transform.
TO THOSE WHO KNOW COMPASSION, MINDFULNESS, AND A LITTLE EDGE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
You are ready to experience a different way of learning that will help you be the leader—the changemaker—you are meant to be. You are ready for Naropa, where experiential learning meets academic rigor. And we are ready for you.
https://www.naropa.edu/you-are-ready/bachelors/index.php
Somatic experiencing is based on the understanding that symptoms of trauma are the result of a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) whose inherent capacity to self-regulate is undermined by trauma. Somatic experiencing bases its approach on mammals' ability to automatically regulate survival responses from the primitive, non-verbal brain, mediated by the autonomic nervous system. In the wild, animals spontaneously "discharge" this excess energy once safe. Involuntary movements such as shaking, trembling and deep spontaneous breaths reset the ANS and restore equilibrium. Somatic experiencing restores this capacity to self-regulate by facilitating the release of energy and natural survival reactions stored during a traumatic event. According to founder Peter Levine, "Trauma lives in the body, not the event."
The Body Psychotherapy concentration delves deeply into the history of the use of the body in counseling and psychotherapy as well as the current explorations in the field of mental health that are recognizing the critical importance of the body/mind connection in healing, learning, and growth. As one of the first universities to establish a graduate somatic counseling program, we offer a rich and rigorous curriculum in which you will holistically explore—and experience—how the body can be used to help people transform.
TO THOSE WHO KNOW COMPASSION, MINDFULNESS, AND A LITTLE EDGE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
You are ready to experience a different way of learning that will help you be the leader—the changemaker—you are meant to be. You are ready for Naropa, where experiential learning meets academic rigor. And we are ready for you.
https://www.naropa.edu/you-are-ready/bachelors/index.php
