The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

About the Book

The effects of trauma can be devastating for sufferers, their families, and future generations. Here one of the world's experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for treatment, moving away from standard talking and drug therapies and towards an alternative approach that heals the mind, brain, and body.

‘Van der Kolk draws on thirty years of experience to argue powerfully that trauma is one of the West's most urgent public health issues ... Packed with science and human stories.’ New Scientist

‘Breathtaking in its scope and breadth, a seminal work by one of the preeminent pioneers in trauma research and treatment.’ Peter A. Levine, author of In an Unspoken Voice

‘Dr van der Kolk's masterpiece combines the boundless curiosity of the scientist, the erudition of the scholar, and the passion of the truth-teller.’ Judith Herman, author of Trauma and Recovery

Editorial Reviews

An astonishing and important book. The trauma Bible. I cannot recommend it enough for anyone struggling with...well...anything-- Tara Westover

Fascinating, hard to put down, and filled with powerful case histories. . . . the most important series of breakthroughs in mental health in the last thirty years-- Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself

A gripping bestseller about where trauma goes, and its disastrous effects on both individuals and societies. Deeply interesting.― The Times

Everyone should read this book-- Nigella Lawson

A seminal book that outlines the author's pioneering work -- Thea Jane May ― Vogue

About the Author

Bessel van der Kolk

Bessel van der Kolk MD spends his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults.

In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to studying and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood.