*This article contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org which supports local bookstores through online purchases, raising over $20 million to date. There are links to Amazon for those who prefer as well. All commissions go towards supporting the LifeGarden Mission.*
Overview
Perhaps no other book could be as widely accepted and used as the quintessential manual for trauma and healing as the Body Keeps the Score - Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author, who has served as the clinical director of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute and president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, takes readers through a comprehensive tour of trauma, its impact on the body (including the brain), the individual, their social relationships, and society as a whole.
The Body Keeps the Score retains a healthy balance of clinical knowledge, new research, innumerable moving anecdotes, and the implications of such data and experience.
Our understanding of trauma has evolved dramatically in the last 50 years. However, with the onset of mass pharmacology and a near exclusive focus on brain “chemistry” by the medical-industrial complex, the body, spirit, and often devastating social consequences of trauma have been largely ignored.
Van der Kolk has been a pioneer in bringing together integrative healing modalities with modern science. A thorough background in trauma is presented as well as an in-depth analysis of the effects traumatic experiences have on the body. Further, the consequences such impacts have on the individual are also thoroughly examined.
Throughout the book, various methods in treating and addressing trauma are explored in great detail, including countless clinical examples, touching stories, and anecdotes.
Over and over, classical “talk therapy” combined with a purely pharmacological approach simply falls massively short, leaving participants unhelped and oftentimes, worsening in condition.
The very essence of trauma is that it is largely stored in the body. Healing it must address the inextricable link between brain, body, and memory.
Integrative techniques have helped shape a more holistic approach to therapy, which has proven to surpass the outcomes of the “classical” approach by leaps and bounds.
With the science to back it, trauma therapy which incorporates complementary modalities is paving the way for effective treatments for centuries to come.
Alongside talk therapy and appropriate medication (when necessary), these would include: breathing techniques, yoga, martial arts, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), neurofeedback training, and even acting classes, among more.
Discussing the outcomes of many of these techniques via true stories, readers may be brought to tears on many occasions, themselves feeling the visceral releases of trauma described within.
Memorable Quotes
“Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives.”
"Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves."
“Psychologists usually try to help people use insight and understanding to manage their behavior. However, neuroscience research shows that very few psychological problems are the result of defects in understanding; most originate in pressures from deeper regions in the brain that drive our perception and attention. When the alarm bell of the emotional brain keeps signaling that you are in danger, no amount of insight will silence it.”
“Imagination is absolutely critical to the quality of our lives. Our imagination enables us to leave our routine everyday existence by fantasizing about travel, food, sex, falling in love, or having the last word—all the things that make life interesting. Imagination gives us the opportunity to envision new possibilities—it is an essential launchpad for making our hopes come true. It fires our creativity, relieves our boredom, alleviates our pain, enhances our pleasure, and enriches our most intimate relationships.”
Strengths
Thoroughly comprehensive, analytical, practical and impactful
Engaging to the reader through the many clinical examples and anecdotes
Provides a balance of scientific background, new research, and implications
Further Discussion
The Body Keeps the Score is dense with information. It may take time to read through, absorb, and digest.
If you are a person who has experienced trauma, be aware that some of the personal stories are highly provocative and potentially triggering.
Just remember, it is okay to take it bit by bit. We certainly feel that it will be well worth it.
The Bottom Line
We recommend this book first and foremost for every single person who has experienced trauma of any sort in their life. Hey! that’s most of us in one form or another…
Understanding trauma is perhaps a vital first step in healing it. Second, learning about the various techniques and options available for our individual and collective healing is essential in reaching out for the necessary support.
We also recommend this book for teachers, counselors, therapists, doctors, and healers of every kind: yoga instructors, energy workers, dream workers, body workers, and practitioners of any healing art.
If this topic is of interest to you, we also recommend Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga, for which Dr. Bessel van der Kolk wrote the introduction. One of the authors, David Emerson, founded the yoga program at Van der Kolk’s Trauma Center.
Read reviews of The Body Keeps the Score on Amazon.
