Panel Discussion on Bessel van der Kolk’s Book “The Body Keeps the Score”

and How to Somaticize It

Education Committee 4-24-2016

Have you heard of the book, “The Body Keeps the Score,” by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk? It’s a fascinating read that takes you on a journey spanning one man’s career working with people suffering from PTSD and various forms of mental/physical trauma.

He alludes throughout his book to his observation that all trauma becomes “body” trauma in some way. While the conscious memory of the trauma may fade away or become fragmented, body holding patterns remain, almost like a bookmark or placeholder, that keeps track of what a soma has experienced. He wrote about how traditional talk therapy gets limited results with PTSD and that drugs can only go so far. He also talked about the value of body-oriented therapies and how important they can be in helping a traumatized person become “whole” again.

Van der Kolk doesn’t know about HSE or have our understanding of SMA. But we do! And we’ve planned a special interactive panel discussion to bring this important topic to the surface for all of us, including plenty of audience participation. And, we’ll also bring this topic to “the floor”, including an experiential portion to the program. You might find it helpful to read the book before attending convention so you arrive with some awareness of van der Kolk’s experiences, his thoughts on trauma, and how body-oriented therapies are, perhaps, the missing link in what’s been “understood” to be the best approach so far.