Clinical psychologist, EMDR consultant and yoga teacher in Boulder, Colorado. Author of The Complex PTSD Workbook and EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology; writes on trauma, attachment and the nervous system.
Arielle Schwartz did not write this page.
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Each column is a stretch of time in which the same views came up; a new column starts when one appears or goes quiet. Quiet means nothing on it in our sources for that stretch, which is not the same as a change of mind; Dropped means they said they no longer hold it; tap the card for which claim and when. Revised means the view carries on but one of its claims was dropped. Each row is one view, in the same place all the way along. The number is how many claims in that stretch; we hold 6 in 2017, 0 in 2018, 0 in 2019, 0 in 2020, 0 in 2021, 0 in 2022, 0 in 2023, 3 in 2024, 0 in 2025, 4 in 2026.
1The body is not a trauma archive, and describing it as one has a cost
Our label. 3 claims in Arielle Schwartz's own words.
Arielle SchwartzClinical psychologist, EMDR consultant and yoga teacher in Boulder, ColoradoIt may not be stored there, but what you're tapping into, it's not a repository of the memory, but it's part of this mind-body feedback loop where there's a sensation that your brain has an association to that might have a familiarity to a time in which you felt sad or scared.↗If the Body Doesn't Keep the Score, What Does?drarielleschwartz.com · 25 Aug 2026
Their wordsIt may not be stored there, but what you're tapping into, it's not a repository of the memory, but it's part of this mind-body feedback loop where there's a sensation that your brain has an association to that might have a familiarity to a time in which you felt sad or scared.
Arielle SchwartzClinical psychologist, EMDR consultant and yoga teacher in Boulder, Coloradothe issue that I take with some of the language around "the body keeps the score" is that it maybe doesn't also recognize that the body also carries so much wisdom and so much intelligence and kind of helps guide us towards healing↗If the Body Doesn't Keep the Score, What Does?drarielleschwartz.com · 25 Aug 2026
Their wordsthe issue that I take with some of the language around "the body keeps the score" is that it maybe doesn't also recognize that the body also carries so much wisdom and so much intelligence and kind of helps guide us towards healing
Their wordsThe central clinical proposition of polyvagal theory-that autonomic state functions as an organizing platform shaping perception, emotion, and relational behavior-was not empirically disproven in the critique.
Their wordsPolyvagal theory provided me with a coherent framework for understanding why cognitive insight alone often fails when a nervous system is in defensive dominance. In such states, higher-order cortical processes are functionally constrained.
Their wordsOne area that is particularly vulnerable to traumatic stress is the corpus callosum, which sits in between the left and right hemispheres of your brain.
Their wordsWhen the brain is able to communicate between the left and right hemispheres, you are better able to recognize your emotions and communicate them to others.
Their wordsEFT tapping helps improve connectivity within the brain and creates improved heart rate variability, improved vagal tone, and reduced inflammation.