47 pages • 1 hour read
Bessel van der KolkThe Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Van der Kolk often compares childhood and adult traumas in the text. How are childhood and adult traumas similar and how are they different?
Why does van der Kolk include so many examples of specific patients? How does including them support the main themes of the text?
Over the course of his career, van der Kolk has worked with numerous other researchers and teachers who have affected his practice. Choose five mentioned in the text; compare and contrast their effect on his views and approaches to understanding and treating trauma.
Van der Kolk mentions “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches to treating trauma. Of the treatments he describes in Part 5, which are top-down, and which are bottom-up? What advantages and disadvantages do the two approaches have?
Cases of depression and anxiety are prevalent in the U.S. today. What does The Body Keeps the Score suggest about possible reasons for these disorders being so common?
Could widespread use of technology rather than in-person communication cause or perpetuate trauma? Why or why not?
What political, economic, and medical changes would provide better support for traumatized children? How would improving trauma care for children improve other aspects of society?
In Chapter 12, van der Kolk describes a seesaw: periods of interest in trauma often face backlash. Why might this swing in attitudes happen, particularly during the time periods van der Kolk highlights?
Choose three fictional characters who exhibit symptoms of PTSD and explain how they fit or don’t fit van der Kolk’s descriptions of those with PTSD. What treatments might you recommend for each of them and why?
Which is more effective for conveying van der Kolk’s assertions—passages of hard science that include diagrams and terminology, or stories about specific patient experiences? Why?
