The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Who Would Like This Book:
This book is a cornerstone for understanding trauma, blending personal stories, neuroscience, and practical healing methods into a highly readable package. Dr. van der Kolk's compassionate approach shines through, making scientific concepts accessible without being dry. If you work in healthcare, education, social work, or you're simply curious about how trauma shapes the brain and body, this is a standout read. It's especially uplifting for anyone seeking to understand (or help others heal from) personal and generational trauma - and even those with no trauma background will find it enlightening and hope-filled.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers may find the book emotionally heavy or even triggering, especially if they have unresolved trauma themselves. Others felt uncomfortable with the harrowing patient examples or took issue with the early focus on war veterans at the possible expense of other trauma narratives. A handful of critics wish the book had provided more hands-on, practical advice - or felt skeptical about some of the therapies discussed. And if you're put off by anecdotal stories or are looking for a quick self-help manual, this may not quite be your cup of tea.
About:
'The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma' by Bessel van der Kolk is a comprehensive exploration of how trauma impacts the brain, mind, and body. The author delves into various types of trauma, including childhood trauma and military PTSD, while providing up-to-date research on mindfulness, meditation, and therapeutic treatments. Through case histories and personal experiences, van der Kolk explains the lasting effects of trauma on memory and emotions, offering insights into ways to cope and heal from traumatic experiences.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for The Body Keeps the Score include discussions of trauma, PTSD, sexual abuse, childhood trauma, and emotional distress. The content may be triggering for some readers.
From The Publisher:
#1 New York Times bestseller
"Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society." -Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies
A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers' capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments-from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga-that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain's natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk's own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal-and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
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5 comment(s)
Was a really enlightening read for me at the time as I hadn't encountered a lot of the information before. But since finding out about the author's shitty behaviours, I'm looking forward to reading about trauma research from other authors instead.
fascinating!
(audiobook read)
Not down with the pseudoscience.
Anyone who has PTSD or knows someone with PTSD should read this book. It gives a great overview of what it is like to suffer from this disorder, as well as a lot of hope for survivors. Psychiatrists like van der Kolk are breaking ground in body-based therapies that show a lot of promise for rewiring the brain after the physical damage of trauma. I don't mean physical as in a concussion; I mean the physical rewiring of the brain that makes trauma victims act a certain way. Through neuroplasticity, there is hope that a trauma victim's brain can be returned to "normal" so she is not always stuck in the past, reliving the moment of trauma and reacting accordingly (that is to say, in constant fight/flight/freeze mode).
What can you read after
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma?
About the Author:
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., is the founder and medical director of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is also a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and director of the National Complex Trauma Treatment Network….
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