Join Kristin Russell, PhD, licensed psychologist, for the first of a three-part book club exploring The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD. This groundbreaking book offers invaluable insight into how your brain and body have evolved to help you survive life’s challenges—even when those same survival responses can make it difficult to truly thrive. While the book is rich with life-changing information, it can also feel overwhelming to read on your own.

Session 1: Fri Aug 28, 12-1pm pst

Understanding that our brain wiring is about surviving — still

We’ll explore the anatomy of the brain, how trauma changes neural pathways, and why responses such as hypervigilance, people-pleasing, emotional shutdown, or fight, flight, and freeze are often signs of adaptation rather than dysfunction.

Session 2: Fri Oct 23, 12-1pm pst

The second of three book club sessions will focus on Sections III and IV.  Kristin will share how attachment and adverse childhood events impact how we experience and manage emotions. She will also discuss how impacted nervous systems can interfere with healthy relationships.  Finally, the importance for survivors and professionals to accurately understand how developmental trauma impacts future functioning is essential to receiving appropriate diagnoses and treatment.

Session 3: Fri Dec 4, 12-1pm pst

The last book club for The Body Keeps the Score will address Part V: Paths to Recovery.  Kristin will share why insight and understanding alone don’t help the emotional brain out of the effects of the trauma.
What healing options exist, and how do they work? This session will focus on the therapies, practices, and interventions that help restore safety, regulation, and resilience for those who have suffered from trauma.

Whether you’re reading for personal growth, professional development, or simply curiosity, you’re invited to join us for meaningful conversation and learning in community.

About our host, Kristin Russell: 

Kristin Russell, PhD is a licensed psychologist and coach. For more than 30 years, Kristin has partnered with women to treat mood and anxiety disorders, helping them navigate life’s challenges with greater resilience, self-understanding, and emotional well-being. She is deeply dedicated to empowering women to offer themselves the same compassion, care, and understanding they so readily extend to everyone else.

Her greatest passion is teaching women the tools they need to regulate their emotions so they can move beyond simply surviving the demands of work, family, relationships, and everyday stress. She has learned that by understanding our emotional systems, we become far more capable of remaining calm, managing stress effectively, and thriving—even amid life’s inevitable chaos. Her goal is to help women transform into the strongest, most authentic versions of themselves and create lives that reflect their true potential.

Core Member event. Become a member or log in to your existing account to RSVP.