The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk · first published 2014 · ISBN 9780143127741
Van der Kolk synthesizes decades of neuroscience research on how trauma changes the brain's stress response systems, affecting attention, emotion regulation, and threat detection. He explains why talk therapy alone often fails for traumatized people and describes somatic approaches like yoga, movement, and drama that reconnect people to their bodies and regulate their nervous systems.
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This book deepens understanding of why traumatized students seem unable to follow instructions or sit still, and why they sometimes seem aggressive or withdrawn. School psychologists draw on this knowledge to explain behavior to skeptical staff, advocate for appropriate supports, and recommend interventions that address the nervous system alongside skill-building.
This book teaches you the neuroscience behind why your clients behave the way they do. You'll understand why a client freezes in stress, why their body remembers what their mind forgets, and how to recommend treatments that actually address trauma's physical roots.