📚 Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score — Chapter 19 and the Transformative Power of Neurofeedback

By Renee Willson | Founder of NeurPhoria Neurofeedback

When people come to NeurPhoria, they often tell me,

“I’ve tried everything—and I still feel stuck.”

That was me, too. Until I found a chapter that changed everything.

If you’ve ever experienced trauma, anxiety, burnout, or emotional exhaustion, you’ve probably heard of The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. It’s more than a book—it’s a revolution in how we understand and recover from trauma.

For me, the turning point was Chapter 19: “Learning to Inhabit Your Body: Neurofeedback.”

🧠 Chapter 19: When the Brain Finally Sees Itself

In Chapter 19, van der Kolk shares something profound: trauma isn’t just a story we carry in our minds—it’s a pattern etched into our brainwaves and nervous system.

People living with trauma often have brains that are:

• Hyperaroused (anxious, reactive)

• Hypoaroused (numb, shut down)

• Or swinging between both

He explains that trauma can cause persistent dysregulation in brain regions like the:

• Amygdala (fear and survival response)

• Prefrontal cortex (executive function and rational control)

• Default Mode Network (self-awareness and rest)

This dysregulation makes it hard to focus, sleep, regulate emotions, or feel safe—no matter how much therapy you’ve had.

“Neurofeedback is a technique in which we show the brain its own patterns of activity so it can regulate itself better.”
— The Body Keeps the Score, Ch. 19

📊 The Science: How Neurofeedback Works

Van der Kolk and his colleagues, including neurofeedback pioneer Dr. Sebern Fisher, collaborated on clinical studies using neurofeedback with patients who had not responded to traditional therapy.

In one of the studies referenced, 24 adults with severe developmental trauma received 30 sessions of EEG neurofeedback. After the training:

• Sleep, emotional stability, and focus improved

• Symptoms of PTSD and dissociation decreased

• Participants reported feeling more present, grounded, and calm

(van der Kolk, Hodgdon, Gapen et al., 2016)

These outcomes echoed earlier findings by pioneers like Dr. Barry Sterman, who discovered that training specific brainwave patterns (like SMR) could reduce seizures—proof that the brain’s electrical activity can be trained and regulated.

🧘‍♀️ Healing Beyond Talk: Why This Chapter Changed My Life

This chapter hit home during the darkest period of my life.

After years working in in the Canadian Arctic—flipping between shift work to emergency response, under intense stress, long shifts, and extreme environmental conditions—I sufferred 3 personal tragedies, I was assulted in my own home, my roof collapsed on my house and my insurance company said they didn't have to helpe me.. eventually... my nervous system collapsed. I couldn’t sleep at all. Insonmia had taken over. I was in chronic pain. I was anxious, depressed, and completely disconnected from my body.

I tried everything—therapy, yoga, medications. Nothing helped.

Then I read Chapter 19. Neurofeedback offered a new kind of hope:
Healing without reliving. Regulation without medication. Recovery from the inside out.

I found a practitioner. I trained daily for three months. And it worked.
My nervous system recalibrated. My sleep returned. My emotions stabilized. I started laughing again. Living again.

That transformation inspired me to launch NeurPhoria Neurofeedback—so I could help others find that same peace.

🔄 Why NeurPhoria Uses NeurOptimal®

At NeurPhoria, we use NeurOptimal®, a neurofeedback system that aligns beautifully with van der Kolk’s research.

NeurOptimal® uses real-time EEG feedback, monitoring brainwaves 256 times per second. When the system detects dysregulation—like anxious over-arousal or depressive under-arousal—it provides a subtle cue (a skip in music or flicker on a screen). This alerts the brain to shift its own activity, naturally.

We don’t diagnose or direct the brain. We reflect what it’s doing and let it rewire itself.

💡 The Result? Neuroplasticity in Action

Neurofeedback supports clients with:

• PTSD & trauma

• ADHD & emotional dysregulation

• Depression & anxiety

• Sleep issues, burnout, and chronic stress

• Focus, clarity, and resilience

And it’s not just for those in crisis.
Athletes, high performers, and parents are using this to stay sharp, regulated, and grounded in today’s chaotic world.

📚 Final Thoughts on Chapter 19

Chapter 19 gave me more than insight—it gave me a roadmap.

It validated the truth that trauma is neurological, not just psychological.
And it proved that the brain, when given the right information, can learn to heal itself.

If you’ve ever read The Body Keeps the Score and paused at Chapter 19—felt a flicker of hope—you’re not alone. That same flicker became the foundation of my practice.

You don’t have to push harder or talk louder to heal.
Sometimes, your brain just needs a mirror — and the right space to remember what calm feels like.

Train your brain. Change your life.
NeurPhoria Neurofeedback | Serving Chatham-Kent & Beyond
🌐 www.neurphoria.com

📚 Citations & Scientific References:

• van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books, 2014.

• van der Kolk, B. A., Hodgdon, H., Gapen, M., Musicaro, R., Suvak, M., Hamlin, E., & Spinazzola, J. (2016). A Randomized Controlled Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD. PLOS ONE, 11(12), e0166752.

• Sterman, B., & Egner, T. (2006). Foundation and Practice of Neurofeedback for the Treatment of Epilepsy. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 31(1), 21–35.

• Fisher, S. (2014). Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma. Norton.