Awareness, with curiosity
Notice sensations and protective responses with curiosity; there is no need to force change.
WELCOME TO SOMATIC EXPERIENCING NIGERIA
A gentle return
to connection.
Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) is a body-oriented approach to stress and trauma. It explores how the nervous system responds and how bodily sensations can inform the work.
ROOTED IN THE BODY. OPEN TO POSSIBILITY.
SCROLL TO EXPLORE ↓
A MORE CONNECTED WAY FORWARD01 / 05
A body-first approach
to stress and trauma.
How can we understand the body's response to stress and trauma?
Developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, SE brings attention to bodily sensations and protective responses, alongside a person's experience.
A practitioner guides the work gradually, supporting awareness, manageable pacing and self-regulation.
Get to know Somatic Experiencing
NOTICEPAUSERECONNECT
Room to
breathe.
UNDERSTANDING THE APPROACH
What is Somatic
Experiencing?
SE understands trauma responses through nervous-system physiology. The approach may track protective responses such as fight, flight and freeze, together with the sensations that accompany them.
Practitioners work in small steps, supporting clients to notice bodily responses and stay with manageable sensations. Pacing, personal choice and scope of practice matter.
A pace that respects you
Move gradually, focusing on what feels manageable and respecting choice.
Connection and resources
Identify supportive people, places and experiences that can help you stay present.
EXPLORE YOUR NEXT STEP
Different paths.
Shared curiosity.
Introductory sessions and professional training serve different audiences. Ask us about Nigerian opportunities and their eligibility requirements.
An introduction to SE
Explore sensation, nervous-system responses and the role of supportive resources in Somatic Experiencing.
Start with the essentials
Professional learning
The brochure describes Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced levels. Training combines theory, live demonstrations, guided practice, case studies and suggested reading. Ask us about current Nigerian cohort details and eligibility.
Enquire about training
Community workshops
Register your interest in introductory sessions and community conversations about body awareness, stress and resilience.
Explore workshopsPROFESSIONAL TRAINING
A pathway for deeper practice.
The brochure outlines a three-level professional training pathway with theory, demonstrations and guided practice.
3levels
8modules
2–3years on average
Beginning
Three four-day modules, described in the brochure as virtual and spaced two to four months apart.
Explore the learning focus
- Understand traumatic stress and the autonomic nervous system.
- Track sensation and defensive responses.
- Develop skills in pacing, stabilization, boundaries and resourcing.
- Explore titration, Polyvagal Theory, SIBAM and appropriate touch.
Intermediate
Three four-day modules, described in the brochure as virtual and spaced two to four months apart.
Explore the learning focus
- Recognize different categories and patterns of trauma.
- Develop approaches for early, high-impact, inescapable, physical-injury, disaster-related and emotional trauma.
- Refine tracking and support completion of protective responses.
Advanced
Two six-day live modules, described in the brochure as spaced four to six months apart.
Explore the learning focus
- Work with complex trauma and syndromes, emphasizing stabilization and coherence.
- Refine titration, pendulation and touch skills.
- Explore body systems and scope-of-practice considerations.
The 2027–2029 Nigeria cohort has published module dates and delivery formats. Contact the organizer for fees, eligibility and enrolment details.
Check SE International’s global organizer directorySKILLS THE PROGRAMME DEVELOPS
Learning that can inform professional practice.
- Nervous-system assessment
- Working with fight, flight, freeze and collapse responses
- Titration and pendulation
- Working with shock, developmental and complex trauma
- Trauma-informed practice without retraumatization
WHO THE BROCHURE NAMES
A wide range of helping professions.
Entry requirements vary by level and cohort; check with the organizer before applying.
See all 20 professions listed
- Psychologists
- Psychotherapists
- Psychiatrists
- Counsellors
- Social workers
- Medical doctors
- Nurses
- Midwives
- Occupational therapists
- Physical therapists
- Chiropractors
- Acupuncturists
- Massage therapists
- Craniosacral therapists
- Yoga instructors
- First responders
- Educators
- Mediators
- Religious and spiritual counsellors
- Coaches
2027–2029 COHORT · ABUJA, NIGERIA
Practitioner
certificate training.
Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner Certificate Training. A blended cohort with Beginning and Intermediate modules online and Advanced modules in person.
Ask about the cohortABUJA, NIGERIABlended training · West Africa Time
Beginning
9:00am–4:30pm WAT
- Beginning I
- Beginning II
- Beginning III
Intermediate
9:00am–4:30pm WAT
- Intermediate I
- Intermediate II
- Intermediate III
Advanced
9:00am–5:30pm WAT
- Advanced I
- Advanced II
For fees, eligibility and enrolment enquiries, contact the organizer.
A MOMENT TO NOTICE
There is space to pause.
There is space to begin again.
Curiosity. Connection. One small step at a time.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE TRAINING
Meet the team.
Meet the faculty, assistant and organizer supporting Somatic Experiencing learning in Nigeria.
Faculty · Beginning and Intermediate, Cohort 1
Julie Teetsov, SEP
Somatic Experiencing International faculty member and trauma practitioner, educator and movement specialist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Julie brings more than two decades of experience in touch therapy and somatic education.
Read Julie's full profile
Julie is a techniques-certified Craniosacral Therapist through the Upledger Institute, a certified Somatic Movement Educator through the School of Body-Mind Centering®, and a Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning Experience (DARe®) Practitioner. Alongside teaching Somatic Experiencing®, she maintains a private practice specializing in early birth trauma and childhood medical trauma. Her work integrates touch, movement and nervous-system regulation. She is passionate about supporting self-regulation, resilience and connection. Before joining the Somatic Experiencing International faculty, Julie worked for many years with people from refugee backgrounds in New Zealand. This experience shaped her understanding of resilience across language, culture and life experience. Julie will teach all Beginning and Intermediate modules for Cohort 1.
Faculty · Advanced level, Cohort 1
Liana Netto, SEP
Clinical psychologist, professor and clinical supervisor for graduate studies at the Jungian Institute of Bahia in Brazil. Her work brings analytical psychology and Somatic Experiencing into dialogue.
Read Liana's full profile
Liana is developing a postgraduate course in Psychotraumatology and is a researcher at the Bahia Federal University of Medicine, where she is completing her doctorate. She has published scientific articles and book chapters on PTSD, and has presented workshops, short courses and research at national and international congresses, symposia and scientific meetings in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine and Jungian Analytical Psychology. She has studied Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan for twenty years. Liana will lead the Advanced level training for Cohort 1.
Lead assistant
Dennis Moorman, SEP
Somatic Experiencing personal session provider and individual case consultation supervisor at the Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced training levels. Dennis has a special interest in intergenerational trauma.
Read Dennis's full profile
Dennis lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. His embodied therapeutic approach is also informed by Aikido. He studied Soil and Crop Science, Plant Physiology and Divinity, and has undertaken training in Biosynthesis, Integrated Somatic Psychology, touch work and Systemic Family Constellation Therapy. He integrates this learning with Somatic Experiencing in work related to generational trauma. Dennis has worked internationally in sixteen countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Organizer
Rita Akoji-Umaru
Nigerian clinical psychologist with more than 15 years of experience planning and implementing mental health and psychosocial support interventions across humanitarian and clinical settings.
Read Rita's full profile
Rita has spent more than a decade working in and with communities in North-East Nigeria, supporting community actors to deliver context-driven mental health and psychosocial support for people displaced or affected by armed conflict and violence. Her work focuses on adapting services to safeguard community well-being and dignity. She is the Founder and Lead Practitioner at IraCrest, a mental wellbeing promotion brand offering individual and group support for adults navigating major life shifts. Rita also serves as Organizer for Somatic Experiencing training in Nigeria.
KEEP LEARNING
Notes & resources.
Who is Somatic Experiencing training for?
The brochure names psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers, medical doctors, nurses, midwives, occupational and physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage and craniosacral therapists, yoga instructors, first responders, educators, mediators, religious and spiritual counsellors, and coaches. Each cohort may have specific entry requirements.
How is the professional training structured?
The brochure outlines three Beginning modules and three Intermediate modules of four days each, plus two six-day Advanced modules. It describes Beginning and Intermediate modules as virtual and Advanced modules as live. Confirm the delivery format and calendar for the current cohort.
What happens during the modules?
The brochure describes lectures, live demonstrations, guided practice with other students, audio-visual case studies and suggested reading. It also notes personal SE sessions as part of the practitioner-development pathway. Confirm current requirements with the organizer.
Does a workshop qualify me as an SE practitioner?
No. An introductory workshop is different from a professional training pathway. Practitioner status has its own training and completion requirements.
Are dates and entry requirements confirmed for Nigeria?
The 2027–2029 cohort dates and delivery formats are listed above. Contact the organizer for fees, eligibility and enrolment details.LET'S CONNECT
A conversation is
a good place to start.
Ask a question or express your interest in learning opportunities in Nigeria.
Please keep your enquiry general. Do not include medical records or sensitive personal information.