Peter A. Levine

Peter Alan Levine (born February 19, 1942) is an American psychotraumatologist, biophysicist and psychologist. As a psychotherapist, he offers lectures, advanced training and seminars on Somatic Experiencing (SE) he founded worldwide. He received his doctorate in medical biophysics from the University of California at Berkeley, and a doctorate in psychology from International University. He is the developer of SE and founder of the Foundation for Human Enrichment. He described his understanding of coherence with the acronym SIBAM (sensation, image, behavior, affect and meaning). For Levine, a complete phenomenological experience is only given with the simultaneous activation of those five aspects. In the case of coherence, all five elements of consciousness combine with one another. Trauma creates a fragmentation of the coherence of experience. Separately from the meaning, an image triggers an affect, e.g. black rubber boots trigger the impulse to flee. The here and now becomes there and then. By emphasizing only two of the channels of the SIBAM model, cognition and behavior, cognitive behavioral therapy ignores three very important aspects of coherent experience, sensation, image and affect. Levine was a stress consultant for NASA on the development of the space shuttle project. He was a member of the Institute of World Affairs Task Force of “Psychologists for Social Responsibility” and served on the APA “Presidential Initiative on responding to large scale disasters and ethno-political warfare”.

In October 2010 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Body Psychotherapists.

Books

 * Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books; Illustrated edition (July 7, 1997). ISBN 978-1556432330
 * Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body. Sounds True (January 1, 2005). ISBN 978-159179247
 * (With Maggie Kline) Trauma Through a Child's Eyes: Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing. North Atlantic Books; 1st edition (December 26, 2006). ISBN 978-1556436307
 * (With Maggie Kline) Trauma-Proofing Your Kids: A Parents' Guide for Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience. North Atlantic Books; Illustrated edition (March 4, 2008). ISBN 978-1556436994
 * (With Maggie Kline) Freedom from Pain: Discover Your Body's Power to Overcome Physical Pain. Sounds True; 1st edition (May 1, 2012). ISBN 978-1604076639
 * In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. North Atlantic Books; 1st edition (October 30, 2012). ISBN 978-1556439438. Foreword by Gabor Maté.
 * Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic Memory. North Atlantic Books; Illustrated edition (October 27, 2015). ISBN 978-1583949948
 * An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey. Park Street Press (April 2, 2024). ISBN 979-8888500767