Summary

Author van der Kolk discusses the different ways in which different forms of trauma affect large portions of the population, traumas triggered by experiences ranging from serving in combat to domestic abuse to sharing a home, or life, with an addict. He discusses different ways in which trauma manifests, and ways in which new and different branches of scientific research are increasing the understanding of both trauma and how to treat it. These branches, he says, include “neuroscience, the study of how the brain supports mental processes; developmental psychopathology, the study of the impact of adverse experiences on the development of mind and brain; and interpersonal neurobiology, the study of how our behavior influences the emotions, biology, and mind-sets of those around us” (2).

The author also explains how his youthful interest in science evolved, over the course of his training, to focus on coming...