This article represents a condensation of the introductory chapter in the author’s upcoming book The Substitute Tiger. In this book, the genesis of various traumatic syndromes are examined and the author’s treatment approach of Somatic Experiencing developed. These methods are employed in the naturalistic treatment of a variety of anxiety and post-traumatic reactions.

Moderators:Michael Salveson, Peter Levine, Jeffrey Maitland, Peter Schwind, Jan Sultan

Trauma is part of the human condition. “But it doesn’t have to be a life sentence,” says Peter Levine. Having been trained as a Rolfer, he gradually developed his own work, a physiological, holistic approach to healing trauma: Somatic Experiencing.

The following is the text of an address made before the North American Academy of Manipulative Medicine in 1980. Since then, refined editions have been present to the following: Medical College of Virginia, Anatomy Department of Howard University. The Paleontology Society of the Smithsonian Institution, the Alliance for Engineering in Biology and Medicine (fall, 1981). Presentation to the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine in Toronto is scheduled for June, 1982.