Beginning this week, my intention is to share periodically about a book I’ve read that may be of interest to anyone who is exploring or considering neurofeedback training for whatever reason. Some of these books may be scientific and heavy on neuroscience, whereas others may have a more spiritual bent, because neurofeedback encompasses mind, body, and spirit. In any case, I am sharing what strikes me and not providing a review or report.
Normally when I read a book, I end up scanning pages and sometimes entire sections or chapters, simply because either the writing failed to capture my attention or the content was weak. With The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk, I found myself doing the opposite. I read slowly, taking in the long but well-written and content-rich words of one who is in my mind the most prominent and respected name in the field of trauma. For someone whose life has been touched in any way by life’s traumas large and small, this book is worth reading the same way—a few pages at a time, with a notebook nearby.
Van der Kolk decries the emphasis that mainstream psychology places on medications and cognitive approaches to resolving trauma and treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), noting that they have a dismal record of success in restoring a person to healthy emotional functioning. He also points out that many people end up with a multitude of false diagnoses that share only a trauma response underneath the myriad of symptoms. Van der Kolk prefers an approach that recognizes how the body’s safety systems have been hijacked and that reconnects body and brain in a way that makes it safe for individuals to experience healthy emotions so that they can actually live inside their bodies again. He explains why this is so through an explanation of brain functions—including a description of the limbic system and polyvagal theory, and the memory distortions that occur in individuals who have experienced trauma. He speaks to the irrationality and non-verbal nature of trauma, and he talks about how trauma in childhood causes different physiological responses than trauma in adulthood. Most importantly, Van der Kolk offers hope to those who suffer and their families.
In the final and perhaps most important section of his book, Van der Kolk shares what he views as essential approaches to helping individuals tone down their internal alarm systems in ways that allow them to function better in life. He suggests body work, especially yoga, massage, and EMDR. He suggests a more dynamic approach to psychotherapy called IFS, or Internal Family Systems, which is quite similar to psychosynthesis. Van der Kolk also encourages therapeutic theater participation, although that may be much harder to find such a program than his other suggestions. Of especial interest to me is that Van der Kolk is a strong proponent of integrating neurofeedback into any wellness plan for trauma recovery and dedicates an entire chapter to the subject.
His emphasis on brain training and body work have not yet received support from the American Psychological Association, but individuals around the country are paying attention to his ground-breaking efforts. As someone who has been a long-time neurofeedback trainer and has specialized training in the IFS-related field of psychosynthesis, I especially appreciate his wisdom, leadership, and courage in the face of nay-sayers.
If you have any interest in this topic or relationship with someone who’s experienced trauma, put this book on your must-read list.