About the author
Bessel van der Kolk is a Dutch-American psychiatrist and educator whose work since the 1970s has focused on traumatic stress. He helped establish clinical and research programs in the field and has written about memory, attachment, physiological response, and recovery.
The Body Keeps the Score brought those ideas to a wide general readership. It has also drawn scientific criticism for relying on disputed or outdated claims and for presenting some treatments more confidently than the supporting evidence warrants.
Where to start
Start with The Body Keeps the Score for van der Kolk's broad account of trauma and treatment, and read it as a clinical argument rather than a substitute for individualized care or a settled review of every therapy it discusses.
