As everyone on this thread is likely aware, books like van Der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score and other popular works about trauma and how the body responds to trauma are extremely pervasive in online and media discussions of the topic of trauma and trauma-related therapy. In nearly every psychology- or therapy-related subreddit I have ever visited, there have been threads about book suggestions and this book is almost always suggested by at least one person (and usually several). I've also seen therapists (mostly mid-level clinicians) talking about bodily responses to trauma and positively reviewing the book in online blogs, YouTube videos (such as those Glamour videos of the sort like "Therapist reacts to Netflix depictions of trauma," or what have you), etc. As someone whose primary research work and interests lie in the realm of psychosis, particularly schizophrenia, I am not as familiar with the peer-reviewed literature on trauma as I would like to be (since I spend most of my time in my own niche). So, I'm hoping to get input from folks who study trauma and have developed a research expertise in the area regarding their thoughts. I know polyvagal theory is generally not considered evidence-based and is very controversial, but that said: Is van Der Kolk's work empirically-supported? Is it fluff? Is it pseudoscience? It is some mix of good science and "too conclusive given the evidence?" WHAT IS THE DL ON THIS BOOK AND OTHERS LIKE IT? Should we all be reading this seminal work of trauma literature, or I am right in suspecting that its main appeal is that it takes a complex topic and oversimplifies it so that it is attractive to popular audiences? Thanks in advance!