You may have heard of “The Body Keeps the Score” by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. It’s constantly recommended as the seminal work on trauma. No doubt it’s a valuable and important book. But a few things to know:
- It has zero prep as it constantly reiterates terrible descriptions of violence. - The author is accused of sexual misconduct & kicked out of the org he started. - His work appears to be predated by the research of Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who is not quoted or cited once.
It’s still worth reading, but I recommend these books on trauma: - The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris @DrBurkeHarris - My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem @ResmaaMenakem - What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo @imontheradio
@jsparkblog It was very enlightening to me to find out the author was abusive. The book was recommended to me by an abusive parent who said they deliberately used the strategies in the book to be more subversive and successful in abusing myself and others.
@emily_rj Wait WHAT I’d imagine that’s possible to do with almost any book, but that’s a really motivated level of evil. I’m sorry & infuriated to hear this.
@jsparkblog Interestingly, I saw a similar thread to this two days ago. There were lots of alternatives recommended in that thread too.
@KeyTruths I’m going through this thread again by @fkamorena and there’s a lot of good info there. Thank you for sharing it here.
@jsparkblog I think it's also important to consider just how badly misused the ideas in this book are by therapists who like to hand-wave away ethics. I had such a therapist.
@3xWiddershins Whoa. Do you have an example? (Only if you want to share and have the energy for it. Absolutely okay if not!)
@jsparkblog Why are you choosing to spread misinformation? This article explains things well https://x.com/kimberlylouvin/s...
@kimberlylouvin You seem half-informed. I replied to you on your other tweet, you seem eager to defend him so I doubt you’ll hear this. I think I was fair, I still believe his book is worth reading. He was fired for bullying & he himself brought up the sexual misconduct when it initially wasn’t.
@jsparkblog From a research perspective, the book also contains some very shaky scientific claims as well. Seems like it could be a lot shorter if it focused on the point.
@Daniel_A_Clark Right. I remember reading some of the data was botched & that he had some old ideas about repressed memories. I know our ideas can change over time but he definitely had some interesting ones. I don’t see where he’s retracted and/or corrected himself. https://greyfaction.org/wiki/b...
@jsparkblog Whoa! I didn't know he was accused of sexual misconduct. Any references on it?
@AmberLe88181775 Original story: https://www.bostonglobe.com/me... His response: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyl...
@jsparkblog I was curious about his advocacy of repressed memory theory. I thought that was pretty thoroughly debunked?
@atubini I believe that’s true, though I think on this thread there is some discussion about exceptions. It seems in 2007 that Bessel briefly reversed his stance on repressed memory when a client filed a complaint against him, by stating that memories are not reliable. 😬
@jsparkblog I just bought it. Agh. Time to the suggested ones!
@HannahBozell I think it’s still worth a read or a browse, but I hope the context will frame what you’re in for. It was helpful for me at the time & I did learn quite a bit from it.
@jsparkblog For those of you working with small children while not specifically about trauma it is instead about the behaviors that accompany trauma. Very good read.
@jsparkblog I think I had an even worse outcome than usual from reading this book, but it definitely complicated my already complex PTSD. I ended up going to a really abusive therapist (who had trained under him) for EDMR but just got more PTSD 😂
@jsparkblog The Body Keeps the Score and The Deepest Well are also incredibly fatphobic. Unfortunately anti fat bias is often perpetuated in the trauma field, you’d think they’d be most aware of how traumatizing that is…
@jsparkblog @laurenancona I find the concept of the trauma living in the body important. I am not sure if that can be gained from other books, but allowing myself to feel and sit with negative emotions, so that they move through my body is something I needed to begin healing.