Understanding Implicit and Explicit Memory in Trauma Healing
When we think about memory, we often picture vivid recollections such as moments we can describe, name, and place in time. These are our explicit memories, the ones we consciously recall and narrate. But beneath the surface lies another type of memory, the implicit memory, which quietly shapes how we move through the world, often without our awareness.
For many who have experienced trauma, the body and nervous system hold stories that the mind cannot easily access or articulate. Understanding how these two forms of memory work, and how therapies like Somatic Experiencing (SE)and Lifespan Integration (LI) engage with them, can illuminate why healing often begins not in words, but in sensation.
Implicit Memory: The Body’s Remembering
Implicit memory refers to the nonverbal, body-based imprints of experience. It includes sensations, emotions, movement patterns, and physiological responses that were formed before we had language or when the brain was overwhelmed.
These memories don’t exist as clear stories but as felt experiences such as a tightening in the chest, a sudden startle, or an unexplainable sense of dread. When trauma occurs, the nervous system can store fragments of those moments as implicit memories, replaying them through automatic reactions long after the event has passed.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) works directly with this layer of memory. Through gentle attention to bodily sensations, clients learn to track the nervous system’s signals, complete incomplete survival responses, and restore regulation. Rather than retelling the traumatic story, SE supports the body in releasing what was once held in tension, freeze, or collapse then allowing a greater sense of safety and presence to emerge.
Explicit Memory: The Story We Tell
Explicit memory encompasses the facts and narratives we can consciously recall such as names, dates, and sequences of events. It helps us make sense of our experiences and form coherent life stories. However, trauma can fragment explicit memory, leaving gaps, distortions, or disconnection between what we “know” happened and what we feel inside.
Lifespan Integration (LI) helps repair this disruption. By gently guiding clients through a timeline of their life, from early experiences to the present, the brain naturally integrates fragmented memories into a cohesive narrative. This process allows implicit sensations and emotional states to link with explicit awareness, helping clients feel both connected to and separate from past events.
Where SE and LI Meet
Somatic Experiencing and Lifespan Integration complement each other beautifully. SE supports the body in releasing stored activation and restoring nervous system balance, while LI helps weave those experiences into an integrated story of self.
Together, they create a bridge between the implicit and explicit realms, between the body’s memory and the mind’s understanding. Through this integration, clients often find that what once felt overwhelming or disconnected begins to feel grounded, whole, and in the past, where it belongs.
A Path Toward Integration
Healing trauma involves more than remembering. It involves reconnecting. When implicit and explicit memories come into harmony, our bodies no longer have to carry the weight of the past in isolation. We can inhabit the present with greater ease, trust, and vitality.
Both Somatic Experiencing and Lifespan Integration honor the innate intelligence of the body and mind. Through their combined support, clients are invited into a process of remembering not just what happened, but also who they are beyond the trauma.