Lauren Taub Cohen

My nervous system was shaped by a combination of developmental trauma and shock traumas; as a result, I lived with chronic anxiety, amped-up urgency, heightened sensitivity, heavy depression, and full body tension. Unfortunately, all of that helped reinforce what I once held as a core belief - I am bad, broken and wrong. Sound familiar? In 2011, I sought support from a Somatic Experiencing ® Practitioner because I was suffering from all that I wrote above as well as a medical abnormality, which confounded doctors. Thankfully, SE understood my body’s language! In a short amount of time, the issue healed and an invasive surgical procedure was no longer necessary. I continued working with an SEP and, over time, stuck states began shifting, tension softened, agency increased and…I could finally experience ease without fearing it! These empowering, neuro-physiological shifts inspired me to become an SEP. My intention as an SEP is to help clients suffer less and live more. Ironically, the behaviors and patterns we often think of as “in the way” are the very adaptations we once needed to help us survive back then or still need right now. They’re here for a good reason. So, when working together, it’s important we respect the nervous system and its protective care as we create the conditions for the shifts you seek and the change you want. I don’t do SE to clients; rather, I use SE with clients to help them create an inner environment in which shifts arise, wounds heal, vitality returns and a connection to one’s self deepens and expands.