Bessel van der Kolk is a Dutch-American psychiatrist, author, researcher, and educator known for his work on the impact of trauma on the brain, mind, and body. Born in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1943, van der Kolk’s early life was shaped by the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. His father was imprisoned in a concentration camp, and he himself suffered from asthma and near starvation as a child.
After obtaining his undergraduate degree at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, van der Kolk went on to receive his M.D. at the Pritzker School of Medicine (University of Chicago) in 1970. He completed his psychiatric residency at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (Harvard Medical School) in 1974. From there, van der Kolk began working for the VA, where he treated American veterans who fought in the Vietnam War. This kindled his fascination with “how people become living testimonials for things that no longer exist” (Tippet). He then established and served as medical director of The Trauma Center in Boston until his termination in 2018. He has also taught at Boston University School of Medicine as a Professor of Psychiatry since 1996. He founded and directed the Trauma Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts. Over the course of his career, van der Kolk has contributed significantly to trauma-informed care.
The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a nonfiction psychology and self-help book first published in September 2014. As the subtitle Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma suggests, the book is a holistic exploration of...
