Bessel van der Kolk books

Bessel van der Kolk is a psychiatrist, researcher, and author best known for The Body Keeps the Score, his work on how trauma affects the body and brain.

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Psychological Trauma 1986 Buy
Traumatic Stress 1996 Buy
The Body Keeps the Score 2014 Buy

Norton on Interpersonal Neurobiology Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work 1994 Buy
Healing Trauma 2003 Buy
Affect Dysregulation and Disorders of the Self 2003 Buy
Affect Regulation and the Repair of the Self 2003 Buy
The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life 2004 Buy
Trauma and the Body 2006 Buy
The Haunted Self 2006 Buy
The Mindful Brain 2007 Buy
The Neurobehavioral and Social-Emotional Development of Infants and Children 2007 Buy
The Healthy Aging Brain 2008 Buy
Infant/Child Mental Health, Early Intervention, and Relationship-Based Therapies 2009 Buy
From Axons to Identity 2009 Buy
The Psychophysiology of Self-Awareness 2009 Buy
The Healing Power of Emotion 2009 Buy
Changing Minds in Therapy 2010 Buy
The Mindful Therapist 2010 Buy
The Impact of Attachment 2010 Buy
Self-Agency in Psychotherapy 2010 Buy
Being a Brain-Wise Therapist 2011 Buy
Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation 2011 Buy
The Brain-Savvy Therapist’s Workbook 2011 Buy
Love and War in Intimate Relationships 2011 Buy
The Polyvagal Theory 2011 Buy
Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology 2012 Buy
The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy 2012 Buy
Clinical Intuition in Psychotherapy 2012 Buy
Brain-Based Parenting 2012 Buy
The Archaeology of Mind 2012 Buy
A Dissociation Model of Borderline Personality Disorder 2012 Buy
Borderline Personality Disorder and the Conversational Mode 2012 Buy
Neurobiology Essentials for Clinicians 2013 Buy
Body Sense 2013 Buy
Healing Moments in Psychotherapy 2013 Buy
Loving with the Brain in Mind: Neurobiology and Couple Therapy 2013 Buy
The Birth of Intersubjectivity 2014 Buy
Neurobiologically Informed Trauma Therapy with Children and Adolescents 2014 Buy
Awakening Clinical Intuition 2014 Buy
The Neuroscience of Human Relationships 2014 Buy
Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morali: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdomby Darcia Narvaez 2014 Buy
The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Play 2014 Buy
Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality 2014 Buy
Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes 2015 Buy
Healing the Traumatized Self 2015 Buy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy 2015 Buy
The Neuropsychology of the Unconscious 2015 Buy
Art Therapy and the Neuroscience of Relationships, Creativity, and Resiliency 2015 Buy
Affect Regulation Theory 2015 Buy
10 Principles for Doing Effective Couples Therapy 2015 Buy
Why Therapy Works 2015 Buy
Why Therapy Works: Using Our Minds to Change Our Brains 2015 Buy
Foundational Concepts in Neuroscience 2015 Buy
The Neurobiology of Attachment-Focused Therapy 2016 Buy
The Neurobiology of Attachment-Focused Therapy: Enhancing Connection & Trust in the Treatment of Children & Adolescents 2016 Buy
Prenatal Development and Parents’ Lived Experiences 2016 Buy
Sex Addiction as Affect Dysregulation 2016 Buy
Mind – A Journey to the Heart of Being Human 2016 Buy
Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation 2016 Buy
How People Change 2017 Buy
The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy 2017 Buy
The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory 2017 Buy
Play and Creativity in Psychotherapy 2017 Buy
The Heart of Trauma 2017 Buy
Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory 2018 Buy
The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy 2018 Buy
Neurobiology For Clinical Social Work, Second Edition 2018 Buy
Borderline Bodies 2018 Buy
Mind-Brain-Gene 2019 Buy
Right Brain Psychotherapy 2019 Buy
The Development of the Unconscious Mind 2019 Buy
Addiction, Attachment, Trauma and Recovery 2019 Buy
Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection 2020 Buy
The Pocket Guide to Neuroscience for Clinicians 2020 Buy
Mind, Consciousness, and Well-Being 2020 Buy
Polyvagal Flip Chart 2020 Buy
The Development of a Therapist 2021 Buy
Reassembling Models of Reality 2021 Buy
The Pocket Guide to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in Context 2021 Buy
Interpersonal Neurobiology and Clinical Practice 2021 Buy
Our Anxious Selves 2022 Buy
IntraConnected 2022 Buy
Polyvagal Perspectives 2024 Buy
Autism in Polyvagal Terms 2024 Buy
The Right Brain and the Origin of Human Nature 2025 Buy
Executive Functioning and Psychotherapy 2025 Buy

Bessel van der Kolk has spent over four decades studying how traumatic experiences change the way people think, feel, and live. As a psychiatrist and researcher, he has published extensively on post-traumatic stress, and his clinical work has influenced how therapists around the world approach trauma treatment.

His most widely read book, The Body Keeps the Score, brought his research to a general audience and became a cultural phenomenon. Van der Kolk has also contributed to the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, a large collection of professional texts covering topics from polyvagal theory to attachment-focused therapy. His earlier books, Psychological Trauma (1986) and Traumatic Stress (1996), laid the groundwork for much of the modern understanding of trauma’s effects on the nervous system.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Bessel van der Kolk written?

Bessel van der Kolk has written 87 books across two series.

What was Bessel van der Kolk's first book?

Bessel van der Kolk’s first book is Psychological Trauma, published in 1986.

What is Bessel van der Kolk best known for?

Van der Kolk is best known for The Body Keeps the Score (2014), which spent years on the New York Times bestseller list. The book explains how trauma reshapes both body and brain, and offers paths toward recovery through methods that activate the body’s natural healing processes.

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