Bessel van der Kolk: Why The Body Keeps The Score And ...
Trauma has a quiet way of staying in the body long after the mind has tried to move on. It shows up in the tension we carry, the way we flinch, the exhaustion that has no clear cause. For many people, the connection between past pain and present physical experience goes unnamed for years, and that silence can make healing feel out of reach.
At Sounds True, we have spent over four decades bringing the world’s most trusted teachers and researchers directly to the people who need them most. With a library of more than 3,000 transformational titles and a weekly podcast reaching listeners around the globe, we are honored to share the work of voices like Bessel van der Kolk.
In this piece, we’ll discuss why the body keeps the score, how trauma lives in the nervous system, and what genuine healing can look like.
Key Takeaways:
- Trauma’s Physical Imprint: Trauma is encoded in the nervous system and body, meaning healing requires more than just understanding what happened on a cognitive level.
- Beyond the Talking Cure: Body-based practices such as EMDR, yoga, and movement have proven far more effective for many trauma survivors than traditional talk therapy alone.
- Healing Is Possible: Bessel van der Kolk’s decades of research affirm that with the right conditions and support, the human body and mind hold a genuine capacity for recovery and renewal.
Why The Body Holds What The Mind Tries To Forget
Trauma has a way of staying with us long after the event itself has passed. In his conversation on our Insights at the Edge podcast, Bessel van der Kolk shares decades of clinical research that point to a profound truth: the mind may try to move on, but the body keeps the score. Here is what that really means:
Trauma Lives Below The Level Of Thought
Most people assume that healing means making sense of what happened, but Bessel van der Kolk reminds us that the trauma brain does not process painful experiences the way ordinary memories do. Trauma gets encoded in the nervous system, showing up as physical sensations, reactivity, and a body that stays on high alert long after the danger is gone. Research confirms that during traumatic events, hippocampal encoding is suppressed while the amygdala intensifies its capture of sensory and emotional content, leaving trauma stored as implicit body-held fragments rather than coherent narrative memory (ISTSS, 2025). Our Healing Trauma Online Course offers structured guidance for working through exactly this.
The Body Responds Before The Mind Catches Up
One of the most grounding insights from Bessel van der Kolk’s work is that the body reacts to trauma faster than conscious thought ever could. Heart rate, muscle tension, and breathing patterns all shift automatically, which is why people often feel overwhelmed or frozen without fully understanding why. Trauma and the Embodied Brain explores these neurological underpinnings in depth. The body is responding to a threat it has not forgotten.
Survival Patterns Can Become Stuck
When the nervous system gets locked into survival mode, everyday situations can feel dangerous even when they are not. This is how unresolved trauma body healing becomes so necessary, as the body has essentially learned to protect itself in ways that now interfere with connection, rest, and feeling safe in the present moment.
How Healing Actually Happens: Moving Beyond Talk Therapy
For a long time, the dominant belief in mental health care was that talking through trauma was enough to heal it. Bessel van der Kolk’s research gently but firmly challenges that assumption, pointing us toward approaches that work with the whole person, not just the thinking mind. Here is what the path forward can look like:
The Limits Of Talking It Out
Language is a powerful tool, but it has its limits when it comes to trauma. Bessel van der Kolk explains that because trauma is stored below conscious awareness, talk therapy alone often cannot reach the places where the pain actually lives. Healing requires working with the body directly, not just narrating what happened. The Trauma Skills Program provides a practical framework for exactly that kind of work.
Somatic Trauma Therapy Opens New Doors
Body-based approaches like EMDR, yoga, psychodrama, and interoception practices have shown remarkable results in Bessel van der Kolk’s clinical work. EMDR has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a first-choice treatment for PTSD, and is rated strongly recommended by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies for children, adolescents, and adults (Frontiers in Psychology, 2019). These methods help people safely re-enter the felt experience of the body, releasing what has been held there rather than simply talking around it. Twenty-four randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the positive effects of EMDR specifically in treating both psychological and somatic symptoms stemming from traumatic experiences (The Permanente Journal, 2014). The body, it turns out, has its own language for healing.
Movement, Rhythm, And Collective Joy Matter
Some of the most compelling insights from Bessel van der Kolk involve the healing power of music, movement, and shared human experience. Practices that invite rhythm, play, and a sense of belonging help regulate the nervous system in ways that no amount of analysis can replicate. Healing, at its heart, is about feeling alive and connected again. Body as Healer offers further guidance on cultivating that aliveness through embodied practice.
Final Thoughts
Bessel van der Kolk’s work carries something rare in the world of trauma research: genuine hope. His decades of clinical experience have not left him hardened or discouraged. If anything, he remains optimistic about the human capacity to heal, grow, and reclaim a life that feels full and present. Trauma is not a life sentence. With the right support, the right practices, and the willingness to listen to what the body is asking for, real change becomes possible.
What makes his teachings so enduring is how deeply they honor the whole person. Healing is not about erasing the past or pretending the pain did not matter. It is about becoming fluid, alive, and grounded in the present. Whether you are just beginning to understand your own story or well along your healing path, the wisdom of Bessel van der Kolk reminds us that the body, given the right conditions, knows how to find its way home.
Frequently Asked Questions About Why The Body Keeps The Score
What is the central argument of Bessel van der Kolk’s work?
Trauma is not just a psychological experience but a physical one that reshapes the brain and body at a fundamental level.
How long has Bessel van der Kolk been researching trauma?
He has been studying and treating traumatic stress since the 1970s, making his career span over five decades of research.
Is The Body Keeps the Score only relevant to people with severe trauma?
The book and its teachings apply broadly, including to anyone carrying unresolved stress, childhood wounds, or chronic emotional pain.
Can trauma affect physical health, not just mental health?
Yes, unresolved trauma can manifest as chronic pain, autoimmune issues, sleep disorders, and other physical symptoms throughout the body.
What populations did Bessel van der Kolk originally study?
His early research focused on Vietnam veterans, though his findings have since been applied to survivors of childhood abuse, domestic violence, and other traumas.
Does Bessel van der Kolk believe full recovery from trauma is possible?
Yes, he holds an optimistic view that with the right approaches and support, people can genuinely reclaim a sense of safety and wholeness.
What role does the nervous system play in trauma?
The nervous system acts as the body’s alarm system, and trauma can leave it stuck in a state of chronic activation even in safe environments.
Are there trauma healing approaches that do not require reliving painful memories?
Yes, many body-based and experiential methods work without requiring a person to verbally recount or re-experience their traumatic events in detail.
Has Bessel van der Kolk’s work influenced how therapists are trained today?
His research has reshaped trauma-informed care globally, influencing training programs, clinical models, and treatment standards across the mental health field.
Can healing from trauma happen at a community or societal level?
Bessel van der Kolk believes collective healing is possible and that shared human experiences, such as rhythm, movement, and belonging, play a meaningful role in recovery.
Sources:
- Brewin, C. R. (2025). Key concepts, methods, findings, and questions about traumatic memories. PMC/ISTSS Annual Meeting Proceedings. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12551622/
- Capezzani, L., Ostacoli, L., & Fernandez, I. (2019). Present and future of EMDR in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2185. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6776929/
- Shapiro, F. (2014). The role of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in medicine: Addressing the psychological and physical symptoms stemming from adverse life experiences. The Permanente Journal, 18(1), 71–77. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3951033/
Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant, and intuitive healer. She is the author of six books, including Skill in Action and Finding Refuge. Amy Burtaine is a leadership coach and racial equity trainer. With Robin DiAngelo, she is the coauthor of The Facilitator's Guide for White Affinity Groups. For more, visit https://www.michellecjohnson.com/wisdom-of-the-hive.
