Human figure with rooms and objects inside the body, symbolizing how trauma, memory, and emotions are stored physically.

September 22, 2026

The Body Keeps the Score: What It Gets Right (and What Critics Say)

Some books get read. Others get carried: in tote bags, on nightstands, in therapy waiting rooms, half-underlined and slightly coffee-stained. ☕ The Body Keeps the Score is the second kind.

Published in 2014 by psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, it has spent hundreds of weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. That's a lot of weeks for a book about trauma, a topic most people would prefer to discuss approximately never. So what's inside, what holds up, and what deserves a pinch of salt?

What the book is about

In one sentence: trauma isn't only a memory, it's a whole-body experience.

Van der Kolk, a Dutch-born psychiatrist and professor at Boston University School of Medicine, argues that overwhelming experiences can change how the brain and nervous system respond to the world, long after the danger has passed. The fire alarm keeps ringing, even though the building stopped burning years ago.

He draws on decades of clinical work and on brain imaging research. In one early study he co-authored (Rauch et al., 1996), people with PTSD listened to recordings describing their traumatic memories. Activity dropped in Broca's area, a brain region linked to speech. Trauma, quite literally, can leave people speechless.

What it gets beautifully right 💛

It takes the body seriously. A racing heart, frozen shoulders, a stomach that knots at a certain tone of voice. The book validates what many people feel but can't explain.
It removes shame. Reactions that look "irrational" often make sense as survival strategies. Not weakness. Wiring.
It widens the toolbox. Beyond talk therapy, it explores EMDR, yoga, neurofeedback, theater, and Internal Family Systems. In a 2014 randomized trial led by van der Kolk, 52% of women with chronic PTSD no longer met the diagnosis after 10 weeks of trauma-informed yoga, compared with 21% in a control group.
It gave people a language. The title alone became a sentence millions now use to describe themselves.

What critics say 🔍

Here's the part the tote bags don't mention. Some researchers argue that the book's biggest neuroscience claims run ahead of the evidence.

Psychiatrist Michael Scheeringa challenged them in his book The Trouble with Trauma (2021). In a 2025 paper in BJPsych Bulletin, he checked 122 claims from the book. His conclusion: the central ideas, that trauma damages the brain and that body-based treatments work uniquely well, are not supported by the current weight of research.

A few other things worth knowing:

Many of the brain studies behind the book are small, so their findings are suggestive rather than settled.
"The body keeps the score" is a powerful metaphor, not a literal description of memories stored in your muscles.
The treatments with the strongest research base for PTSD, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR, are the ones recommended in World Health Organization guidelines.

None of this makes the book worthless. It makes it a book: one brilliant, influential, sometimes overconfident voice in a much bigger conversation.

So, should you read it?

Yes, with two small instructions:

Read it as a map, not a diagnosis. If every page feels like your biography, that's information, not a verdict.
Pace yourself. Some chapters describe painful experiences. Put it down, take a walk, come back later. The book will wait. So will your nervous system. 🌿

Think of it as a fantastic tour guide who occasionally exaggerates for effect. The views are real. Just double-check the dates on the plaques.

Quick FAQ

Is The Body Keeps the Score scientifically accurate?
Partly. Its compassionate view of trauma is widely valued, but some of its neuroscience and treatment claims are debated by researchers.

Who should read it?
Anyone curious about trauma: survivors, loved ones, students, and helping professionals. Go slowly if the topic is close to home.

Can this book replace therapy?
No. A book can open a door. A trained professional can walk through it with you.

If reading about trauma stirs something up, that's okay. A trained mental health professional can help you make sense of it, at your own pace.

Sources

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