BEST Bessel van der Kolk Books & Quotes of All Time (October 2022)

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Contents

1. Who Is Bessel van der Kolk?

2. The Best Bessel van der Kolk Books of All Time

3. More Books Like Bessel van der Kolk's Books

4. Best Bessel van der Kolk Quotes

5. Wish There Was a Faster/Easier Way?

Who Is Bessel van der Kolk?

Bessel van der Kolk (born 8 July 1943) is a psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator based in Boston, USA. Since the 1970s his research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress. He is the author of The New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score.

Learn more about Bessel van der Kolk

The Best Bessel van der Kolk Books of All Time

Why these best Bessel van der Kolk books and not others? To stay objective, I rank all my book recommendations by a combination of what’s most loved (Goodreads rating), what’s most popular (Goodreads review count) and what’s proven timlessly relevant (first publication date).

This isn’t a whimsical list. It’s a data-driven, crowdsourced collection of the best Bessel van der Kolk books ever published as decided by book lovers like you.

And if you think something's missing? I LOVE book recommendations so if there are any other books by Bessel van der Kolk that you think deserve mentioning, email me and I’ll be sure to include them in the next round of updates.

Until then, here are the best Bessel van der Kolk books of all time...

Best Bessel van der Kolk Books: The Body Keeps the Score

The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel A. van der Kolk (FREE Summary)

Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

The Body Keeps the Score is a fascinating dive into the hidden epidemic of trauma, what we've learned about it in the last 30 years and how to better diagnose, face and heal it - by psychiatrist, author and post-traumatic stress researcher, Bessel van der Kolk.

Published 2014 // 443 pages // Rated 4.4 over 72,200 reviews on Goodreads

See all Bessel van der Kolk's books on Amazon
Visit Bessel van der Kolk's Goodreads profile

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Best Bessel van der Kolk Quotes

Here are some of the best Bessel van der Kolk of all time...

"You can be fully in charge of your life only if you can acknowledge the reality of your body, in all its visceral dimensions."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"Most bullies have themselves been bullied, and they despise kids who remind them of their own vulnerability."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"As long as you keep secrets and suppress information, you are fundamentally at war with yourself… The critical issue is allowing yourself to know what you know. That takes an enormous amount of courage."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"As I often tell my students, the two most important phrases in therapy, as in yoga, are “Notice that” and “What happens next?” Once you start approaching your body with curiosity rather than with fear, everything shifts."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"Trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present. Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going inside ourselves."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"Beneath the surface of the protective parts of trauma survivors there exists an undamaged essence, a Self that is confident, curious, and calm, a Self that has been sheltered from destruction by the various protectors that have emerged in their efforts to ensure survival. Once those protectors trust that it is safe to separate, the Self will spontaneously emerge, and the parts can be enlisted in the healing process."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

"The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves."

- Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

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Arthur Worsley
I founded TAoL to discover and share the best wisdom on how to live long and prosper. Before that I studied Psychology, Philosophy & Physiology at Oxford and consulted at McKinsey. Still curious? Learn more or take my FREE productivity quiz.