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Book Summary

The Body Keeps the Score

15 min

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Brief Summary

The Body Keeps the Score transforms our understanding of trauma from a purely psychological wound into a complex mind-body phenomenon. Van der Kolk’s work shows that trauma reshapes the brain, disrupts the nervous system, and lives on in the body long after the event has passed. But healing is possible. By combining neuroscience with body-based therapies—yoga, EMDR, neurofeedback, and theater—he demonstrates that recovery requires feeling safe in one’s own skin.

Healing is not about talking yourself out of pain; it’s about gently reawakening the body to life. The body that once protected you from danger can also guide you back to wholeness.

About the Author

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. is a world-renowned psychiatrist, researcher, and teacher who has spent over forty years studying trauma and its effects on the brain and body. He founded the Trauma Research Foundation and has served as a professor of psychiatry at Boston University. His pioneering work with veterans, abuse survivors, and children transformed the field of trauma therapy. Through his research, van der Kolk proved that the body is both the site of suffering and the key to recovery—an insight that continues to reshape psychology, medicine, and healing worldwide.

Topics

Health & Nutrition

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