Bessel van der Kolk, MD

Understanding and healing from trauma

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 on inside ourselves.

The Body Keeps the Score

Published in 38 Languages

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.

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Bessel van der Kolk MD has spent his professional life studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences. He translates emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of effective treatments for traumatic stress and developmental trauma in children and adults.

TRF

Trauma Research Foundation

Integrating Therapy with Science

In the past 3 decades, we have learned an enormous amount about brain functions and interpersonal attachment systems. This new knowledge has not always been systematically applied to help traumatized children and adults heal from trauma. Dr. van der Kolk's work is focused on integrating therapy with science.

Dr. van der Kolk has published over 150 peer reviewed articles, diversely ranging from neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, developmental trauma, yoga, and theater to EMDR.

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MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
If you, or patients you work with have moderate to severe PTSD and might benefit from MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, please consider volunteering for our study.

BECOME A CERTIFIED MDMA-ASSISTED THERAPIST
MAPS is starting a 14 week online training program to help practitioners become certified in MDMA-Assisted Therapy. Click the link below to learn more.

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The Ezra Klein Show

This Conversation Will Change How You Think About Trauma

"There’s a lot in this conversation. We discuss the lived experience of trauma, the relationship between the mind and the body, the differences between our “experiencing” and “autobiographical” selves, why van der Kolk believes human language is both a “miracle” and a “tyranny,” unconventional treatments for trauma from E.M.D.R. and yoga to psychedelics and theater, how societies can manage collective trauma like 9/11 and Covid-19, the shortcomings of America’s “post-alcoholic” approach to dealing with psychic suffering, how to navigate the often complex relationships with the traumatized people we know and love, and much more."

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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.

- The Body Keeps the Score

Upcoming Events

10 - 10 April 2023

Grand Rounds (Private Lecture)

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21 - 21 April 2023

The Body Keeps The Score: Trauma, Attachment And Neuroscience

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26 - 26 April 2023

Trauma & Resilience in Higher Education: Naming the Urgency, Envisioning Change, Sharing Tools

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