Recommended reading
This curated list provides foundational texts for understanding TRE™, trauma, and somatic approaches.
Where to begin
If you’re new to this material, start with:
- The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process by David Berceli
- Trauma Is Really Strange by Steve Haines
- Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine
Core
TRE™
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| David Berceli | Shake It Off Naturally: Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Tension with TRE |
| David Berceli | The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process |
| Giten Tonkov | Feel to Heal: Releasing Trauma Through Body Awareness and Breathwork Practice |
Trauma and the body
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Bessel van der Kolk | The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma |
| George A. Bonanno | The End of Trauma: How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD |
| Peter A. Levine | In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness |
| Peter A. Levine | Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past |
| Peter A. Levine | Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma |
| Robert Scaer | The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease |
| Steve Haines | Trauma Is Really Strange |
The nervous system
Polyvagal theory
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Deb Dana | Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory |
| Stanley Rosenberg | Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve: Self-Help Exercises for Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Autism |
| Stephen W. Porges | Polyvagal Perspectives: Interventions, Practices, and Strategies |
| Stephen W. Porges | The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe |
| Stephen W. Porges and Karen Onderko | Safe and Sound: A Polyvagal Approach for Connection, Change, and Healing |
| Steve Haines | Anxiety Is Really Strange |
Neuroscience
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Antonio Damasio | Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious |
| Candace B. Pert | Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine |
| Iain McGilchrist | Ways of Attending: How Our Divided Brain Constructs the World |
| Lisa Feldman Barrett | How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain |
Somatic therapy
Body psychotherapy
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Babette Rothschild | The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment |
| Babette Rothschild | The Body Remembers Volume 2: Revolutionizing Trauma Treatment |
| Bonnie Badenoch | The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships |
| Judith Blackstone | Trauma and the Unbound Body: The Healing Power of Fundamental Consciousness |
| Kathy L. Kain and Stephen J. Terrell | Nurturing Resilience: Helping Clients Move Forward from Developmental Trauma |
| Michael C. Heller | Body Psychotherapy: History, Concepts, and Methods |
| Nick Totton | Different Bodies: Deconstructing Normality |
| Pat Ogden | Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in Context: Personal and Professional Journeys |
| Pat Ogden and Janina Fisher | Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment |
| Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton and Clare Pain | Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy |
| Ron Kurtz | Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method |
Embodiment and interoception
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Abigail Rose Clarke | Returning Home to Our Bodies: Reimagining the Relationship Between Our Bodies and the World |
| Alan Fogel | Body Sense: The Science and Practice of Embodied Self-Awareness |
| Ann Weiser Cornell | The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing |
| Brittany Piper | Body-First Healing: A Somatic Guide to Connecting to Self and Wholeness |
| Christine Caldwell | Bodyfulness: Somatic Practices for Presence, Empowerment, and Waking Up in This Life |
| Eugene T. Gendlin | Focusing |
| Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee | The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better |
Psychedelic-assisted therapy
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Manuela Mischke-Reeds and Joshua Sylvae | Embodied Psychedelic Therapy: A Somatic Guide |
Related topics
Pain
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Benjamin S. Boyd | Bodily Relearning: Reteaching Bodily Protection Responses Through Insight and Movement Exploration |
| Daniel S. Harvie and G. Lorimer Moseley | Pain and Perception: A Closer Look at Why We Hurt |
| David S. Butler and G. Lorimer Moseley | Explain Pain |
| G. Lorimer Moseley | Painful Yarns: Metaphors and Stories to Help Understand the Biology of Pain |
| Steve Haines | Pain Is Really Strange |
Touch and fascia
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| David J. Linden | Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind |
| Robert Schleip | Fascial Fitness: How to Be Vital, Elastic and Dynamic in Everyday Life and Sport |
| Steve Haines | Touch Is Really Strange |
Stress and culture
| Author(s) | Title |
|---|---|
| Gabor Maté | When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress |
| Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté | The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture |
| Robert M. Sapolsky | Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping |
| Staci Haines | The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice |