• The Body Keeps the Score

  • Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
  • By: Bessel A. van der Kolk
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (10,853 ratings)

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The Body Keeps the Score  By  cover art

The Body Keeps the Score

By: Bessel A. van der Kolk
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
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Publisher's summary

Number one New York Times best seller

“Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” (Alexander McFarlane, director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies)

A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times best seller.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent more than three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments - from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga - that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal - and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

Cover image: © 2020 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Courtesy of the Archives Henri Matisse, All rights reserved.

©2014 Bessel van der Kolk (P)2021 Penguin Audio

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What listeners say about The Body Keeps the Score

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Best book I have listened to in over a year!

Insightful, informative, inspirational, and should be required reading for anyone working in the mental health industry, education, social work, and possibly every line of work where one person interacts with another. unless you are a hermit that never interacts with other human beings, you will learn something useful from this book.

I wish I had come across this book when it first came out. I actually wish I could have been treated by the doctor when I was growing up. This book was very impactful and personal to me. I highly recommend it.

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everyone should read it

this is so important to our society and everyone should read it to be trauma aware

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Good book. Reader fine.

I appreciated the audio version of this influential book. The reader is excellent and I’ve heard him read other things very well. My only complaint was his pronouncing the DSM-V repeatedly as the letter “V”, rather than the Roman numeral 5, for Fifth edition. It’s a very well-known reference book for anyone in the counseling or psychology field, so the mistake was jarring each time. Other than that, excellent!

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Must read

Everyone should be familiar with this research, and one day they will be. I can't believe it's 2021 and we still treat mental health like an afterthought.

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1 person found this helpful

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Most important book I've ever read

A must read for all people. Will help you build empathy and understanding about what others may be going thru.

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I love this book. I now have hope for my future

I'm listening again. there's so much to learn. I'm getting better already. my future is bright

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transformatively insightful!

This book is brilliant at illuminating what's running the show for so many trauma survivors and why simple things can feel totally impossible, but then he gives hope that we really can access the next level of living with the right kind of healing. He is truly a gift to the suffering world.

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A must for clinicians of any specialty.

Any book that causes you to dig deeper, be more compassionate, or considerate of your daily interactions with total strangers is well worth digesting and putting into practice.

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great information

a little slow at first but it picks up fast and you get really great information on dealing with trauma and how it affects the mind and body

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Powerful

If you have experienced trauma just know this book can be tough, but stick with it and take action

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