Bessel van der Kolk, MD, is a clinical psychiatrist whose work integrates mind, brain, body, and attachment systems to understand and treat traumatic stress . His research ranges from the impact of trauma on mind and brain development, and brain imaging, to the use of yoga, psychedelic agents, neurofeedback, EMDR, theater and psychodrama for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Van der Kolk is a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, and President of the Trauma Research Foundation in Boston.
An internationally recognized leader in the field of psychological trauma, he is author of more than 150 peer reviewed scientific articles and and the perennial NYTR best seller The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain, and Body in the Healing of Trauma which has been translated in 38 languages.

Bessel van der Kolk will be co-teaching a workshop with Licia Sky during the Wisdom and Wellbeing Weeks 2023 again at Blue Spirit about the following topic: The Body Keeps the Score

This workshop is for all those working on helping others or themselves to heal from traumatic stress.

Awareness of physical sensations forms the very foundation of our human consciousness. Overwhelming experiences are lived out in heartbreak and gut-wrenching sensations, which leave survivors feeling frazzled, on edge, overwhelmed, and shut down. The trauma that started outside is lived out in the theater of the body, and survivors no longer feel safe inside their own skin. Recovery from trauma involves learning how to restore a sense of visceral safety and reclaiming a loving relationship with one’s self.

Rooted in the themes addressed inThe Body Keeps the Score, this experiential and didactic course explores how mind and brain are shaped by experience. Learn how your relationship to yourself is intertwined with your synchronicity with those around you while exploring:
• What neuroscience teaches about self-awareness and trauma
• The nature and essence of human attachment
• New treatments that help integrate traumatic memories
• Body-centered approaches to activate our inborn systems for self-regulation and self-compassion.