THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE BY DR. BESSEL VAN DER KOLK

Those of you who are familiar with our approach will also be familiar with the term Persuading the Body.  This is a description we have used for the last 30 years as a way of describing how we need to relate our minds to our bodies.  We cannot enjoy optimal health if either side of this equation is neglected – there must be respect on both sides.

 

It is our experience as psychotherapists, nutritionists, hypnotherapists and holistic practitioners that the body is far too often overlooked in our endeavour to be well.  The problem with this approach is that we don’t understand that the body ‘collects’ the evidence of our actions and on the basis of this evidence it reacts and responds.  It’s time that we paid greater attention to its needs – especially where there has been pain, hurt and trauma.

 

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, since the 1970s, has been a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post traumatic stress and related phenomena. His work integrates developmental, biological, psychodynamic and the interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.  His book Psychological Trauma was the first integrative text on the subject, painting the far ranging impact of trauma on the entire person and the range of therapeutic issues which need to be addressed for recovery.

 

Dr. van der Kolk and his team have published extensively on the relationship between trauma and human development, covering a wide range of subjects such as: dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development in traumatized children and adults, and the psychobiology of trauma.

 

He has taught at universities and hospitals across the United States and around the world, including Europe, Africa, Russia, Australia, Israel, and China. His latest book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma is another ground-breaking piece of work highlighting the need for more than talking therapy as a solution to our psychological and emotional issues.

 

In this video he takes the viewer on a journey of despair and hope, encouraging us all to wake up to what is really going on in and around us.  Please take a look and see how it might enrich your understanding.

 

 


Also see: Persuading the Body and The Facts About Breathing