Mind–Body · Trauma
The Body Keeps the Score
What this book is about
The Body Keeps the Score surveys the effects of trauma on memory, emotion, attention, relationships, the nervous system, and physical experience. Bessel van der Kolk combines research summaries, clinical stories, and discussion of several treatment approaches. The book helped bring broad public attention to the embodied experience of trauma, though it is lengthy and some claims or treatment discussions should be considered alongside more current evidence and individualized clinical guidance. It includes vivid descriptions of trauma and may be overwhelming for some readers.
About the author
Bessel van der Kolk is a psychiatrist, researcher, educator, and author known for work involving post-traumatic stress. His career has focused on how trauma can affect mind, body, memory, relationships, and nervous-system functioning. He has also written and spoken about a wide range of trauma treatments and emerging approaches. The Body Keeps the Score is his broad synthesis for general readers and includes both research discussion and detailed clinical stories.
Kristin says
This is not a light read, but it is full of studies and research about the body remembering small and large traumas. It is a long, enlightening read that can change the way you view the body.
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