Book Bearings
The Body Keeps the Score
- 520 pages ยท about 9 hours
- First published 2014
- 20 editions
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1 About this book
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma is a 2014 book by the psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, drawing on his decades of work with trauma survivors, from combat veterans to adults who were abused as children. He describes how, in his view, traumatic stress affects the brain and the body as well as the mind, and stresses the part played by early attachment and by relationships. The later chapters survey the approaches to recovery that he favors, among them EMDR, yoga, neurofeedback and theater. The book has been very widely read, and researchers have also criticized it for overstating what the evidence shows.
- Mental health
- Neurosciences
- Mind and body
- Psychology
- Clinical Medicine
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Internal medicine
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
2 What to expect
A psychiatrist's account of how trauma affects mind, brain and body, built on case histories from decades of clinical work and on his reading of the research. The first half explains his theory and the second surveys the treatments he favors, from EMDR to yoga. It is long and serious but readable, with detailed accounts of abuse, violence and war. Some researchers dispute its scientific claims, and it is no substitute for professional advice.
Good for readers who want: understanding trauma, psychology told through case histories, and an in-depth look at healing.
3 About Bessel van der Kolk
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