Show Hope Book Club: The Body Keeps the Score
The Body Keeps the Score
“‘The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk is a great look into how trauma shapes both the mind and body, leaving lasting effects on emotional and physical health,” Show Hope Senior Manager of Communications Bethany Jones said. “Paired with our knowledge of Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®), this book offers help and hope for healing for everyone impacted by trauma.”
Discussion Questions
Chapter 1 – Lessons From Vietnam Veterans
- Have you ever noticed how people carry stress or trauma physically (in posture, tone, energy, etc.)? What stands out most to you when you notice?
Chapter 2 – Revolutions in Understanding Mind and Brain
- How do the scientific discoveries described in chapter two shift your view of mental health treatment?
Chapter 3 – Looking Into the Brain: The Neuroscience of Revolution
- Can you think of a time when you or your child’s body reacted to stress or fear before your mind caught up? What was the experience like?
Chapter 4 – Running for Your Life: The Anatomy of Survival
- How does the body’s “fight, flight, freeze” response protect—and later harm—trauma survivors?
- How does this insight change the way you think about your child’s “overreactions” or shutdowns?
Chapter 5 – Body-Brain Connections
- Have you ever experienced a time when your body seemed to react separately from your thoughts? Have you ever seen this happen in your child? How did you respond?
Chapter 6 – Losing Your Body, Losing Your Self
- Why is reconnecting with bodily sensations essential for healing?
- How could you use the TBRI Empowering Principles to help yourself or your child meet physical needs?
Chapter 7 – Getting on the Same Wavelength: Attachment and Attunement
- How do early attachment experiences shape how we handle stress and relationships later in life?
- What role does attunement (feeling seen and understood) play in healthy development?
Chapter 8 – Trapped in Relationships: The Cost of Abuse and Neglect
- How does trauma in childhood distort a person’s sense of safety and trust in relationships?
- Why do trauma survivors often recreate or repeat harmful patterns?
- What can break that cycle?
Chapter 9 – What’s Love Got to Do With It?
- How do secure relationships rewire the brain for safety and calm? What can you do to help promote a secure attachment?
Chapter 10 – Developmental Trauma: The Hidden Epidemic
- What societal systems might unintentionally overlook or worsen developmental trauma? Have you or your child experienced this?
Chapter 11 – Uncovering Secrets: The Problem of Traumatic Memory
- Have you experienced times when words weren’t enough to express what you felt? How did that feel? How did you express yourself?
Chapter 12 – The Unbearable Heaviness of Remembering
- How can you incorporate the Connecting and Empowering Principles of TBRI into helping yourself or your child process memories?
Chapter 13 – Healing from Trauma: Owning Your Self
- Which healing modalities stood out to you in this chapter, and why?
- How does self-awareness differ from self-control in trauma recovery?
Chapter 14 – Language: Miracle and Tyranny
- What role does storytelling or creative expression play in healing? How can you as a caregiver encourage creative expression and play?
Chapter 15 – Letting Go of the Past: EDMR
- Why do you think nontraditional therapies faced skepticism at first? Did this chapter introduce you to any new therapies?
- Have you experienced or witnessed a moment when someone “reframed” a painful memory?
Chapter 16 – Learning to Inhabit Your Body: Yoga
- What practices help you feel grounded in your own body?
Chapters 17–20
- How have you seen community to be beneficial healing, in your own life or your child’s life?
- How can integrating body, mind, and community lead to wholeness?
Join us in reading next month’s book “Brainstorm!”
