THE FIELD ALMANAC

Bessel van der Kolk, MD

What it supports:

• The body as a repository of experience

• Nonverbal communication of threat and safety

• Why talk alone doesn’t resolve relational or emotional patterns

Evidence base: Neurobiology, trauma research, clinical studies

Peter A. Levine, PhD

What it supports:

• Nervous system literacy

• Sensation as language

• Regulation through completion, not analysis

Evidence base: Ethology, neuroscience, somatic psychology

Stephen W. Porges, PhD

What it supports:

• Social engagement system

• Safety as a prerequisite for communication

• Tone, face, posture as primary communicators

Evidence base: Neurophysiology (note: clinically influential, still debated in parts—worth naming transparently)

*Transparency note: Polyvagal Theory is widely used in clinical and coaching contexts, but some mechanisms are still under scientific debate. You can confidently reference it as a useful explanatory framework, not settled fact.

Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD

What it supports:

• Emotions as constructed meaning, not fixed reactions

• Context, body state, and prediction shaping experience

Evidence base: Affective neuroscience, fMRI research

Gavin de Becker

What it supports:

• Intuition as rapid pattern recognition

• Body signals as protective intelligence

Evidence base: Behavioral analysis, threat assessment (not academic neuroscience, but field-validated)