Bessel van der Kolk Books
Bessel van der Kolk, M. D.
Known for: The Body Keeps the Score
Books by Bessel van der Kolk
The Body Keeps the Score
This book explores how trauma reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. Drawing on decades of research and clinical practice, Bessel van der Kolk demonstrates how innovative treatments—ranging from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—can activate the brain’s natural neuroplasticity to restore balance and healing.
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Early Research on Trauma
When I began studying trauma, psychiatry was still largely blind to its existence. In the 1970s, my colleagues and I were witnessing an epidemic of suffering among Vietnam veterans. These men were plagued by nightmares, flashbacks, violent rages, and emotional numbness, yet our diagnostic manuals of...
From The Body Keeps the Score
The Brain in Trauma
When trauma strikes, it engraves itself into the brain’s architecture. Three regions are particularly affected: the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is the brain’s alarm system; it reacts instantly to danger. In trauma sufferers, it becomes hyperactive, signaling th...
From The Body Keeps the Score
About Bessel van der Kolk
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., is a psychiatrist, researcher, and educator specializing in post-traumatic stress and related disorders. He founded the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts, and has been a leading figure in trauma research and treatment for over four decades.
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Bessel van der Kolk, M. D.
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