The Body Keeps the Score (click the image to see the publisher’s description)
The book that has recently altered my approach to others and to my work is The Body Keeps the Score by neuroscientist Bessel Van der Kolk. The book summarizes, for the lay-person, the physiological and psychological effects of trauma. Trauma is not just what we think of as PTSD-generating experience, such as war, but can be as simple as parental neglect. And the effects of trauma can include common behaviors such as hypervigilance, memory disruption, inability to choose, and self-medication. For an introduction to the topic, watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-tcKYx24aA. The book suggests remediation, and stands firmly against mediation as the primary method of assistance.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Book by: Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Published by: Penguin Publishing Group (2015)
Available on Amazon and Kindle
