Neurobiology and its Applications to Psychotherapy – II

Neuroplasticity and Therapy: the function of relationship in neural integration – Part II

The development of the brain within the body only occurs within the context of supportive relationships across the lifespan. Knowing how relationships support or inhibit the differentiation of the two sides of the brain, the lower and higher neural regions, and the various circuits involved in implicit, explicit, and narrative memory, is the building block of effective therapeutic intervention. With a framework of integration as the core mechanism of health, treatment strategies can be formulated to promote the growth of integrative fibres in the brain that will be those most likely to support movement toward health. First defining the mind as an embodied and relational emergent self-organizing process that regulates the flow of energy and information, we will explore how neuroplasticity, by cultivating differentiation and linkage of neural circuits, becomes the mainstay for therapeutic treatment planning.