The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Van der Kolk summarizes what he has covered in the preceding sections and gives an overview of what he will cover in Part 5, which focuses on treatments for trauma. He stresses that treating trauma means restoring the balance between the rational and emotional brains, pointing out, “Understanding why you feel a certain way does not change how you feel” (207). Van der Kolk also unfavorably compares Western medicine and its reliance on drugs to traditions from other parts of the world that involve rhythm, movement, breathing, and mindfulness.

Most of this chapter serves as a summary of potential treatments, some of which van der Kolk covers in more detail in subsequent chapters. He breaks treatments into categories based on the steps he finds necessary for most traumatized people: managing hyperarousal, gaining self-awareness, creating a support network, engaging with community, participating in some form of bodywork, and learning to take action. Van der Kolk adds that part of having a support network means choosing the right therapist, and offers a key question for doing so: “Are you just a list of symptoms on some diagnostic questionnaire, or does your therapist take the time to find out why you do what you do and think what you think?” (214).