Neurobiology and its Applications to Psychotherapy

The Divided Brain: the nature of our selves, our minds and our bodies – Part II

We now know that each hemisphere plays a role in everything the brain does. Iain McGilchrist suggests that there is a Darwinian advantage to this division, originating in the need to pay two quite different types of attention to the world simultaneously: one enabling effective manipulation of pieces within the environment, the other enabling us to be aware of the whole. In human consciousness, these two modes of attention give rise to two different versions of the world, with different qualities, as well as different sets of preoccupations and values. He believes that an understanding of the implications of this attentional divide may cast light on some important questions, such as the nature of our selves, our minds and bodies, and of the world that we are in danger of destroying. These understandings will be elucidated to set a framework for understanding some of the most important aspects of the psychotherapy relationship and our lives in general.