A review by hannah1937
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
0.25
This is honestly the most misogynist book I’ve ever read and I am truly baffled why other people like it so much.
His first case study is Tom, a man who killed children and raped women during the war, which is presented to us as an understandable trauma response to losing his friends in battle.
His second case study is Sylvia, and the first thing we are told about her is that she is an attractive 19 year old, like that is somehow relavent to anything, or an appropriate way for a therapist to describe a patient. Interestingly we aren’t told anything about Tom’s appearance. Sylvia was raped by her brother and uncle as a child, which he describes as incest, like that the only thing wrong with that situation. As we learn from Tom, raping children is understandable, as long as you aren’t related to them.
He also describes domestic violence as ‘couples who engage in violence’, a deliberate phrase to remove the concept of a perpetrator and a victim, which is complete rubbish.
He then describes how surprised he was to learn he got satisfaction from wrestling patients to the ground when working at his first psychiatrict faculty. Do not read this book.
His first case study is Tom, a man who killed children and raped women during the war, which is presented to us as an understandable trauma response to losing his friends in battle.
His second case study is Sylvia, and the first thing we are told about her is that she is an attractive 19 year old, like that is somehow relavent to anything, or an appropriate way for a therapist to describe a patient. Interestingly we aren’t told anything about Tom’s appearance. Sylvia was raped by her brother and uncle as a child, which he describes as incest, like that the only thing wrong with that situation. As we learn from Tom, raping children is understandable, as long as you aren’t related to them.
He also describes domestic violence as ‘couples who engage in violence’, a deliberate phrase to remove the concept of a perpetrator and a victim, which is complete rubbish.
He then describes how surprised he was to learn he got satisfaction from wrestling patients to the ground when working at his first psychiatrict faculty. Do not read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Self harm, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse