ABSTRACT
Symptoms of traumatic grief may include intrusive memories, avoidance of things or situations related to the deceased or events surrounding the death, emotional numbing, physical and/or emotional symptoms of hyperarousal or shut-down and other emotional and somatic complaints. Somatic experiencing, developed by Dr. Peter Levine, is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma. Through tracking bodily sensations, as well as thoughts and emotions, a person can develop responses to counteract the experience of incomplete fight, flight or freeze responses. Two of the major tools in somatic experiencing are titration and pendulation, which are used throughout the drawing process presented in this case. Titration is the slowing down of emotional or physiological responses to enable the client’s system to process and help integrate what happened at a pace not originally possible. Helping clients understand the trauma-related nature of their symptoms and provide ways to develop a more coherent and manageable trauma narrative can offer powerful tools for healing.
