The Body Keeps the Score

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma is a 2014 book by Bessel van der Kolk about the effects of psychological trauma, also known as traumatic stress. The book describes van der Kolk's research and experiences on how individuals are affected by traumatic stress, and its effects on the mind and body. It is based on his 1994 Harvard Review of Psychiatry article "The body keeps the score: memory and the evolving psychobiology of posttraumatic stress".

The Body Keeps the Score has been published in 36 languages. As of July 2021 the book had spent more than 141 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List for nonfiction, with 27 of those weeks spent in the No. 1 position.

Overview

In the book, Van der Kolk discusses the effect of trauma and forms of healing, including possible eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, yoga, and limbic system therapy.

Reception

The Body Keeps the Score was well-received, including a starred review from Library Journal. Reviewing the book for New Scientist magazine, Shaoni Bhattacharya wrote that "[p]acked with science and human stories, the book is an intense read that can get technical. Stay with it, though: van der Kolk has a lot to say, and the struggle and resilience of his patients is very moving."

In 2019, The Body Keeps the Score was ranked second in the science category of The New York Times Best Seller list. As of July 2021, the book had spent more than 141 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List for nonfiction, with 27 of those weeks spent in the No. 1 position.

By the end of October 2023, The Body Keeps the Score had spent 153 weeks (nearly 3 years) on Amazon’s bestseller list.

In his 2005 Canadian Journal of Psychiatry article "Debunking Myths About Trauma and Memory", psychologist Richard McNally described the reasoning of Kolk's 1994 article "The Body Keeps the Score" as "mistaken", his theory as "plague[d]" by "[c]onceptual and empirical problems", and the therapeutic approach inspired by it as "arguably the most serious catastrophe to strike the mental health field since the lobotomy era". McNally's 2003 book Remembering Trauma gave a detailed critique (pp. 177-82) of Kolk's article, concluding Kolk's theory was one "in search of a phenomenon".

References

1. Bessel van der Kolk
2. Body memory
3. List of The New York Times number-one books of 2022
4. Internal Family Systems Model
5. Violence
6. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
7. Polyvagal theory
8. Neurosis
9. Lost in the mall technique
10. Somatic experiencing
11. What Keeps You Alive
12. Trauma trigger
13. Trauma-informed care
14. Religious trauma syndrome
15. Body Heat
16. The Body (2019 film)
17. List of The New York Times number-one books of 2021
18. Henry Murray
19. Psychic numbing
20. Ivor Browne