The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

· Sold by Penguin
4.7
171 reviews
Ebook
464
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

#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.

Ratings and reviews

4.7
171 reviews
Kristin Keele
May 20, 2023
This book was very good. I learned a lot, and would encourage everyone to read it. I think it would give us a better look into mental health and the treatment of it.
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SIMPLYbKates
December 18, 2023
Phenomenal for myself who has a rare autoimmune disease and have always believed the trauma and severe stress I’d experienced for nearly a decade has undoubtedly contributed to weakening and deteriorating my immune system and functioning of my body as well as my health
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Jonathan Parada
March 26, 2020
Fascinating, well-written and honest. I appreciate anyone that can be self-critical and open to growth and learning. This book documents that growth in Dr. Van Der Kolk and the bits of wisdom gained from that slow, often painful, growth.
36 people found this review helpful
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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. When he is not teaching around the world, Dr. van der Kolk works and lives Boston.

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