The Score We Keep
Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score has become a sacred text in trauma discourse. It’s cited in therapy rooms, yoga studios, and spiritual circles alike. And yet, as spiritual companions, we must ask: what score are we keeping, and whose story does it serve?
This post is not a dismissal of van der Kolk’s contributions, but a gentle unearthing of what lies beneath the surface—what he missed, what he misrepresented, and how we, as spiritual companions, can hold trauma in ways that honor the soul’s journey toward wholeness.
I want to add a different term for "trauma". The term 'spiritual imbalance' has been used in some indigenous cultures to refer to the experience van der Kolk terms 'trauma'. I find it interesting to use that phrase as a way to expand how I think, and to remove the overused (and let's face it) buzzword: trauma. When we speak of spiritual imbalance rather than trauma, we shift from a clinical framework that often focuses on damage and pathology to one that suggests the possibility of restoration and realignment. This language invites us to consider not just what has been broken, but what sacred equilibrium might be recovered. It acknowledges that our deepest wounds often occur at the level of spirit and meaning, disrupting our connection to ourselves, our communities, and our sense of place in the larger web of existence. The word 'imbalance' itself carries hope—it suggests that what has been thrown off-kilter can, with proper tending, be brought back into harmony.
This reframing also honors the wisdom of cultures that understand healing as a restoration of spiritual wholeness rather than simply the absence of symptoms.
The Critique: What the Body Doesn’t Keep
Several scholars and clinicians have raised concerns about van der Kolk’s work:
Misrepresentation of Research
Psychiatrist Michael Scheeringa’s The Body Does Not Keep the Score (2024) reviews 122 claims from van der Kolk’s book and finds many to be unsupported or cherry-picked. Scheeringa argues that van der Kolk overlooks the diathesis-stress model, which suggests that brain differences in PTSD may predate trauma, not result from it.Depoliticization of Spiritual Imbalance
Layla AlAmmar, a scholar of literary trauma theory, critiques van der Kolk for advancing an individualized view of spiritual imbalance that ignores systemic and political contexts. In her words: “This book is trash.” Her critique points to how marginalized victims are further erased in van der Kolk’s narrative.Stigmatization and Victim-Blaming
The book opens with a story of a veteran who committed atrocities during war. Van der Kolk centers the veteran’s suffering without acknowledging the victims. This framing risks reinforcing hierarchies of spiritual imbalance and neglecting the sacred dignity of all beings harmed.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie: A Reconsideration of Unearthing
Van der Kolk’s model assumes that trauma must be excavated, faced, and reprocessed. This is the foundation of many trauma therapies: exposure, EMDR, somatic experiencing. But what if healing doesn’t always require digging?
Some practitioners and scholars argue that focusing on health, resilience, and present-moment safety can be just as—if not more—effective than revisiting pain:
Existential and Philosophical Perspectives
Trauma theorist B. T. Reuther suggests that over-focusing on trauma can hinder a full understanding of human experience. Instead, integrating spiritual imbalance into a broader existential framework allows for healing through meaning-making and embodiment.Pluralistic Counseling Psychology
Catherine Athanasiadou-Lewis critiques the dominance of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral models. She advocates for eclectic and psychodynamic approaches that honor the complexity of the psyche and allow for healing without direct confrontation.Ethical Concerns
Anne Rothe’s critique of postmodern trauma theory warns against turning "trauma" into a sacred object that must be unearthed and venerated. She calls this “irresponsible nonsense,” arguing that such models can confuse victimhood, retraumatize listeners, and obscure ethical clarity.
The Spiritual Lens: Spiritual Imbalance as Sacred Threshold
In spiritual companionship, spiritual imbalance is not pathology. What can it be if we apply a spiritual or wholeness lens?
Wholeness Over Wounding
Van der Kolk’s model often implies that spiritual imbalance leaves us permanently broken. But spiritual traditions teach that wounds are portals. As Rumi says, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” We must move from scorekeeping to soul-tending.Embodiment Without Fixation
While van der Kolk emphasizes body-based therapies, he sometimes treats the body as a battleground. In contrast, spiritual practice invites us to inhabit the body as a temple. We are not attempting to fix something broken. We show up to listen. Yoga, breathwork, and movement are not cures; they are conversations.Relational Holding
Trauma healing is not a solo endeavor. Companions hold space. We do not diagnose. We witness. We do not ask, “What happened to you?” but “What is seeking to be born through this pain?”
For the Companion: How We Hold What Hurts
As spiritual companions, we are called to:
- Resist reduction: Avoid reducing spiritual imbalance to neurobiology or symptomology. Honor its mystery, its mythic dimension.
- Center the margins: Hold stories that dominant narratives erase. Listen for the voices beneath the score.
- Practice presence: Healing is not accomplished through pure technique. It requires presence. It is the sacred act of sitting beside someone in their becoming.
Beyond the Score
Van der Kolk gave us language for trauma. But language is not the whole story. The soul speaks in symbols, silence, and sacred rupture. As companions, we travel with questions, not answers. We travel with awe.
The body may keep the score, but the spirit keeps the song.
Let the dogs lie. Let the soul rise.
Beloved, you are whole, holy and worthy,
Rev. Amy
Companioning soul-weary change-makers becoming rooted, aligned and alive again.
For Further Exploration
van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score – A foundational text in trauma discourse, exploring how trauma reshapes the body and brain.
Scheeringa, Michael. The Body Does Not Keep the Score – A critical review of van der Kolk’s claims, challenging the scientific basis of trauma narratives.
Rothe, Anne. “Irresponsible Nonsense: An Epistemological and Ethical Critique of Postmodern Trauma Theory” – A sharp critique of trauma theory’s cultural elevation and ethical implications.
AlAmmar, Layla. “This Book is Trash” – A literary trauma scholar’s blunt critique of van der Kolk’s erasure of systemic and marginalized trauma.
Reuther, B. T. “Philosophical and Existential Perspectives on Trauma” – Offers a broader framework for understanding trauma through meaning-making and embodiment.
Athanasiadou-Lewis, Catherine. “A Critical Evaluation of the Conceptual Model and Empirical Evidence for PTSD Treatments” – Advocates for pluralistic approaches beyond trauma-focused CBT.
See Also on This Blog
Trauma Integration in Spiritual Tending – Offers grounded approaches to accompanying seekers who carry trauma, with attention to scope of practice, spiritual safety, body-based practices, and the sacredness of the healing journey.
Bearing Witness to Moral Injury – Explores how spiritual companions can support those wrestling with ethical pain and inner conflict.
Introduction to Trauma-Informed Spiritual Tending – Outlines key principles of trauma-aware companioning and how they support safety, agency, and healing.
Supporting Souls in Shadows: Spiritual Direction and Depression – Offers insights for accompanying seekers through times of grief, depression, and spiritual dryness.
Traveling with Despair: Consent, Companionship & the Sacred – Explores how spiritual companions can meet seekers in despair with consent-based care, avoiding rescue impulses. Draws on mysticism, trauma wisdom, and the sacredness of shadowed journeys.
This Heart of Spiritual Tending series is ©2025 Amy Beltaine, all rights reserved. You may freely reprint any blog post, website, or print resource. Simply include the following attribution, and if you print online, make the link at the end live:
Article ©2025 Amy Beltaine, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. This article and hundreds of others, along with other free resources, are available at www.AmyBeltaine.info
No comments:
Post a Comment