The Soul Also Keeps the Score: A Trauma-Informed Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

Gain insights into the intersection of Ignatian spirituality and mental health in the healing of trauma. Research suggests that up to 70% of adults will experience a traumatic event in their lifetime. But where does this affliction reside? The bestselling book The Body Keeps the Score introduced readers to the neurobiology of trauma, demonstrating how terror and isolation inhabit and reshape both brain and body. But what about trauma’s effects on the soul? In The Soul Also Keeps the Score, Jesuit counselor and chaplain Father Robert McChesney argues that psychology must be complemented by insights from the discipline of spirituality. In this pioneering work, McChesney interprets the classic sixteenth-century mystical text of the Spiritual Exercises as born in violence to the body and soul of their author, the traumatized, battle-wounded-turned-saint, Ignatius of Loyola. Grounded in Ignatius’s colorful narrative and influential pathway to God, McChesney insists that the two languages of mental health and spirituality can speak in one voice. Whether you are a spiritual, pastoral, or mental health professional, member of the care circle, or wounded seeker, The Soul Also Keeps the Score unlocks a treasure trove of fresh insight and hope. Read more