Tell Me Why It Hurts

The language we have used to describe trauma is ever-evolving and has changed completely in the last 10-15 years. We can point to one scientist, Bessel Van der Kolk, for his tireless work. His most famous book, The Body Keeps the Score, was released in 2014 and changed the way I think about trauma and traumatic memories. He spent his career advocating for his patients and their experiences, including arguing with the psychiatrists who were in charge of the DSM. It seemed that their goal was legitimizing psychiatry in biological ways similar to other disciplines like oncology, dermatology and immunology. Van der Kolk studied psychiatry and neuroscience to demonstrate that symptoms of PTSD, like flashbacks, do indeed have a biological basis. His work gave voice to Vietnam veterans who did not have words for what they were experiencing.

Of course, his work was not without controversy. Others ran with his ideas and explained that people often remembered traumatic experiences much later and some psychologists and therapists even abused their power to “encourage” clients to remember trauma that never happened. Unfortunately that created a situation in which the public did not believe many survivors of trauma. He continued his work despite these pop-psychology claims and found significant support after 9/11 and our “national trauma.” With the influx of federal funding, van der Kolk researched yoga, EMDR and other somatic treatments for PTSD. His work also led to distinguishing between big-T and little-t trauma (see What My Bones Know Blog).

He is quick to correct anyone that calls him a god, according to this article. He seems to be a curmudgeon, but that stubborness likely got us to this place where we can communicate about trauma and give language to experiences. In fact, he was fired amidst the #metoo movement along with the director of the Trauma Center. He denies all claims of bullying and endorsing sexual harassment.

It is a shame that his legacy is tainted by his personality and these alleged actions. His body of work is incredibly important to me as a therapist who works with people experiencing PTSD and led me to get trained in EMDR.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trauma-bessel-van-der-kolk-the-body-keeps-the-score-profile.html?&utm_source=%7B%7Bsite_source_name%7D%7D&utm_medium=social_paid&utm_campaign=content_low&utm_term=%7B%7Badset.id%7D%7D&fbclid=IwAR26zSM5NIgYD7X_4ezBiIokr_xC7KQjTWu2C4TFGOvwqI0zIDO-5RySV5M_aem_AQexvIktZGe_mxIWynRVMi4vnASRudci1O0hFy2HAHp3q2vRHFbnRiTSz82dbu0PMyk