Book · 2014
The Body Keeps the Score
by Bessel van der Kolk
Bessel van der Kolk spent his career arguing trauma changes the nervous system, and r/CPTSD made the book its shared vocabulary for what happened to them.
What does Reddit think of The Body Keeps the Score?
Almost all of this happens in one place: r/CPTSD accounts for the overwhelming majority of the 696 recognized references, more support-group citation than book club. The top comment there (↑198) treats the book as the actual framework used in therapy, building it into a stack with Janina Fisher's Healing the Fragmented Selves, read as taking van der Kolk's ideas further. Another (↑137) uses it to relitigate the DSM committee's refusal to add C-PTSD, more grievance than review. r/therapists is cooler: its top comment (↑132) files the book under a broader shift toward 'hippy dippy' modalities like IFS and somatic work, not exactly a compliment. And r/getdisciplined's highest-upvoted mention (↑344) is a correction, not praise: the book assumes you can choose how you think, which for one reader 'royally screwed' things up for years. Consensus on the diagnosis. Not on the treatment.
Evidence, not a rating
Recommendation receipt
A compact, source-linked answer derived from the same Reddit sample and editorial synthesis as this page.
Editorial summary
Almost all of this happens in one place: r/CPTSD accounts for the overwhelming majority of the 696 recognized references, more support-group citation than book club. The top comment there (↑198) treats the book as the actual framework used in therapy, building it into a stack with Janina Fisher's Healing the Fragmented Selves, read as taking van der Kolk's ideas further.
Read if
Read this if you're already in r/CPTSD's orbit and want the vocabulary the subreddit keeps reaching for, not a foreign language you have to learn from scratch. Therapists browsing r/therapists get a cooler reception: the ↑132 comment treats the book as one entry in a wider swing toward somatic and IFS work, useful context rather than a standalone bible.
Skip or borrow first if
r/getdisciplined's highest-upvoted comment (↑344) pushes back hard: the premise that you can just choose your thoughts 'royally screwed' one reader for years.
Strongest published evidence
“I found that part really difficult to read too, as a sexual assault survivor. I think Pete Walker's book is probably best for many people with CPTSD. The Body Keeps the Score is fascinating from a clinical perspective, but I don't think it's very helpful (especially on an introductory level) to most…”r/CPTSD source · score 424 ↗
Dissent & strongest caveat
r/getdisciplined's highest-upvoted comment (↑344) pushes back hard: the premise that you can just choose your thoughts 'royally screwed' one reader for years.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · How trauma reshapes the nervous system
- · C-PTSD's fight for DSM recognition
- · Somatic and IFS-adjacent modalities as companion frameworks
- · The limits of the 'you can choose how you think' premise
Common praise
- + r/CPTSD's top comment (↑198) says the book is the actual framework they use with their therapist, not just something they read.
- + One reader (↑178) says it 'goes deep with the brain science' in a way Pete Walker's Complex PTSD book doesn't.
- + r/selfimprovement's top comment (↑222) tells the reader straight up to 'consider reading' it, no hedging.
Common criticism
- − r/getdisciplined's highest-upvoted comment (↑344) pushes back hard: the premise that you can just choose your thoughts 'royally screwed' one reader for years.
- − r/therapists' top comment (↑132) lumps it in with psychedelics and IFS as part of a 'hippy dippy' trend, faint praise at best.
- − One CPTSD thread (↑137) uses the book mainly to relitigate a DSM committee decision, which reads as an argument about bureaucracy, not a case for reading it.
Who it's for
Read this if you're already in r/CPTSD's orbit and want the vocabulary the subreddit keeps reaching for, not a foreign language you have to learn from scratch. Therapists browsing r/therapists get a cooler reception: the ↑132 comment treats the book as one entry in a wider swing toward somatic and IFS work, useful context rather than a standalone bible. If the idea that trauma can limit someone's control over their own thinking bothers you, the ↑344 comment says that exact friction cost one reader years, worth knowing before you start. Academics and attachment-theory researchers show up here too, in smaller numbers, mostly citing it rather than debating it.
Mentions over time
Which Reddit comments matter for The Body Keeps the Score?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I found that part really difficult to read too, as a sexual assault survivor. I think Pete Walker's book is probably best for many people with CPTSD. The Body Keeps the Score is fascinating from a clinical perspective, but I don't think it's very helpful (especially on an introductory level) to most…
“Solid advice. One caveat that royally screwed me over for years with this is the assumption that an individual has control over their mind. That is to say that they have the capacity to choose how they think. For myself in the past, and for some others, this may not be the case. This comment is ane…
“A lot of people with these kinks are actually reenacting their trauma. Look up Wiederholungszwang. "The Body Keeps the Score" also touches on this.
“In the Body Keeps the Score, it’s also mentioned that CBT isn’t as useful for trauma as it is for anxiety/depression. There need to be more therapists and doctors out there who understand trauma!
“How you feel about the book is valid. I felt at times there was too much focus on war veterans in order to justify PTSD when really, you’re likely reading … address CPTSD with more focus on the ‘C’ like ‘Trauma and Recovery’ by Judith Herman (it mentions veterans in the context of PTSD to explain ho…
“I think the issue with The body keeps the score is that it doesn't actually seem to be meant for patients to read. It seems like more of a book that caregivers should be reading. It goes into depth about treatment options and how they work. Sure that is interesting but I feel like this book doesn't …
“Yeah. The Body Keeps the Score explains that abused children often feel this way because stress hormones make it extremely hard for them to relate and engage with their peers
“Please consider reading The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk. This book will help you to understand what has happened to, how it is affecting you now, and what some of your options are for healing.
“I think lack of progress is a big one for me. The last therapist I had just kept suggesting coping strategies (meditation, yoga, etc) AFTER I had told … example of what practicing compassion for myself looked like or what skills to implement, but she ended every session with "just try to practice co…
“I hope this is helpful to other people. When i saw this it was such a revelation. I had been aware of the physical symptoms of trauma in my adult life (heart palpitations and physical tension etc) and had been reading The Body Keeps the Score. I remembered feeling constantly ill as a child and reali…
“yes, 100%! of course my memory is crap so I cant rattle off any science but Pete Walker talks about effects on memory in his book Complex PTSD. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel ven der Kolk goes deep with the brain science. I'm currently reading Janina Fisher's book Healing the Fragmented Selves …
“The body keeps the score by Bessel Van Dee Kolk is the best book on trauma and trauma informed therapy that I’ve ever read. Absolutely incredible.
“i’m really sorry, i’m a woman, but i would respectfully like to introduce you to this book that relates a lot to the feelings youre having called *“The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma”* by Bessel van der Kolk. i’m not sure if we can post links here so i’ll just…
“I highly recommend the book The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk. It’s 50 years worth of studies and data about how our trauma, abuse, and/or neglect is stored in our bodies and the ways it shows up in our health, habits, and all of our relationships in life. It also offers incredible tip…
“The Body keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. Read the first chapter and if it's got you s******* bricks because it describes you so well, then the rest of the book will tell you how to fix a majority of your problems. It also describes really well what happens to your brain when you're experien…
Convinced? Pick up The Body Keeps the Score
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with The Body Keeps the Score — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring The Body Keeps the Score
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
The Body Keeps the Score — frequently asked
Is The Body Keeps the Score actually recommended, or just repeated?+
Recommended, per the displayed evidence. r/selfimprovement's top comment (↑222) is a direct 'please consider reading' recommendation, and r/CPTSD's top comment (↑198) says it's the literal framework used in therapy. That's a stronger signal than the mention count alone, since most of the 696 references come from one subreddit where citing it is close to a habit.
Does r/CPTSD treat The Body Keeps the Score as required reading?+
Functionally, yes, per the top comments. One (↑198) uses it as the basis for actual therapy work; another (↑170) leans on its disconnection-from-others framing to explain isolation. But 'required' overstates it: none of the displayed r/CPTSD excerpts argue against the book, they build on it rather than debate it.
What's the strongest criticism of The Body Keeps the Score on Reddit?+
That its core assumption doesn't hold for everyone. r/getdisciplined's top comment (↑344) says the book assumes 'an individual has control over their mind,' and that this assumption 'royally screwed me over for years' for at least one reader. It's a caveat about the premise, not a rejection of the book.
Is The Body Keeps the Score written for therapists or for patients?+
Patients, mostly, based on where it's actually discussed. r/CPTSD's mention count dwarfs r/therapists', and the therapist-side top comment (↑132) treats it as one data point in a broader clinical trend rather than a core text. The heaviest engagement comes from people using it on themselves, not clinicians assigning it.