“It takes enormous trust and courage to allow yourself to remember.”

Bessel van der Kolk is a Dutch psychiatrist and trauma expert. He is the founder and medical director of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts. Van der Kolk is known for his pioneering work on the effects of trauma on the brain and body. His most famous books are The Body Keeps the Score and Traumatic Stress, which have become seminal texts in the field of trauma treatment.

Van der Kolk has spent decades studying how trauma impacts individuals. He has conducted extensive research on the neurological underpinnings of traumatic stress and has advocated for a more holistic, mind-body approach to trauma therapy. Van der Kolk has received numerous awards for his contributions to the field, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Trauma Psychology division of the American Psychological Association.

"change the way we heal a traumatized mind — by starting with the body."  —  New York Times