Neurobiology and its Applications to Psychotherapy

Applying neuroscience to the psychotherapeutic treatment of depression and anxiety

In this presentation, Child and Adolescent psychoanalyzt Lucy Biven explains her fascination with neuroscience and the research findings she has found most useful in her therapy practice. She cites the work of Panksepp, LeDoux, Antonia Damasio and Gazzaniga, emphasizing the finding that people make decisions on the basis of emotions that are beneath conscious awareness and which stem from lower areas of the brain and nervous system. These are automatic biological responses that we can effectively work with psychotherapeutically if recognized. She further elaborates Panksepp’s 7 emotional systems (SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF, and PLAY) and draws on findings that suggest how we can most effectively treat depression and anxiety by placing a neurobiological framework at the center of assessment