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

2026 Catholic Media Association Second Place Award, Faith and Science

2026 Catholic Media Association Second Place Award, Healing and Self Help

2026 Catholic Media Association Honorable Mention, Adult Spiritual Development

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.

FatherRobert McChesney, SJ, has accompanied war refugees, military veterans, and survivors of sexual violence and child abuse as chaplain, pastoral counselor, and retreat guide for more than thirty years, paying particular attention to the intersection of Ignatian spirituality and mental health in the healing of traumatic injury. McChesney has served with the Jesuit Refugee Service in the Middle East, at a federal immigration detention center in Los Angeles Harbor, and as national director in Washington, DC. He is a frequent speaker at workshops and conferences regarding soul repair in trauma recovery and is a member of the Georgetown Jesuit community in Washington, DC.