Bessel van der Kolk

Dr Bessel A. van der Kolk is a pioneer clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work uniquely integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic, somatic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

His book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma (2015) reveals how traumatic stress literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, psychedelic therapy, psychodrama, mindfulness techniques, yoga, and body work.

Dr van der Kolk and colleagues have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published numerous scientific articles on neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, developmental trauma, yoga, theatre and EMDR.

He is founder of the Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) in Boston, MA, past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and principal investigator for the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy study sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. He regularly teaches at universities and hospitals around the world.