Journal of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Use of Neurobiological Modeling to Establish the Structure of the Psychotherapy Situation
Fields M
Abstract
The resolution of attachment deficits in psychotherapy may require modification of the psychotherapeutic context. The neurobiological basis of attachment requires a specific brain-to-brain or unconscious-to-unconscious “listening” process. To remedy attachment failure – caused by a neurobiological deficit related to the failure of unconscious communication – therapy needs to be restructured to facilitate communication between the therapist’s unconscious and that of the patient. When successful, the process can be likened to the alteration of a radio signal transmitter of a radio signal – the patient’s unconscious – so that the receiver – the therapist’s unconscious – can receive it successfully. In this way, the attachment established between therapist and patient can reverse the original attachment failure and resolve the psychopathology. This article illustrates this process, based on neurobiological deficits in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where the wiring of the brain fails because of an overgrowth of the amygdala-based fear mastery center, and an underdevelopment of the hippocampus-based neuronal plasticity center. Usually, these centers are balanced so that individuals can evaluate the masterability of their fear; patients with PTSD, however, have an overwhelming fear response to all circumstances, regardless of actual masterability. To counteract this phenomenon, patients are treated by two therapists: One to whom they present a masterable fear, the “hippocampal therapist,” and another to whom they present an unmasterable fear, the “amygdala therapist.” In this way they learn to master manageable fears without interference by overwhelming fears.
Keywords: Separation bonding; Brain-to-brain communication; Hippocampal; and Amygdala therapists.
Journal Information
- Journal Name: Journal of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
- Journal Short Name: J Ment Health Substance Use
- Language: English
- Format of Publication: Online
- Starting Year: 2020
- Focus Subject: Mental Health Disorders, Substance Abuse, and Addiction
- Publication Model: Online
- Frequency of Publication: One Issue a Year
- Review Process: Single blind peer-review by referees
- Time to 1st Decision: 2 to 3 weeks from date of submission
- Time to Acceptance: 4 to 6 weeks, depending upon the required revision cycles
- Time to Publication: 1 to 3 weeks from date of final submission in the forthcoming issue
- DOI Prefix: 10.7620
Indexed and Abstracted In
Citation
Abstract
The resolution of attachment deficits in psychotherapy may require modification of the psychotherapeutic context. The neurobiological basis of attachment requires a specific brain-to-brain or unconscious-to-unconscious “listening” process. To remedy attachment failure – caused by a neurobiological deficit related to the failure of unconscious communication – therapy needs to be restructured to facilitate communication between the therapist’s unconscious and that of the patient. When successful, the process can be likened to the alteration of a radio signal transmitter of a radio signal – the patient’s unconscious – so that the receiver – the therapist’s unconscious – can receive it successfully. In this way, the attachment established between therapist and patient can reverse the original attachment failure and resolve the psychopathology. This article illustrates this process, based on neurobiological deficits in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where the wiring of the brain fails because of an overgrowth of the amygdala-based fear mastery center, and an underdevelopment of the hippocampus-based neuronal plasticity center. Usually, these centers are balanced so that individuals can evaluate the masterability of their fear; patients with PTSD, however, have an overwhelming fear response to all circumstances, regardless of actual masterability. To counteract this phenomenon, patients are treated by two therapists: One to whom they present a masterable fear, the “hippocampal therapist,” and another to whom they present an unmasterable fear, the “amygdala therapist.” In this way they learn to master manageable fears without interference by overwhelming fears.
Keywords: Separation bonding; Brain-to-brain communication; Hippocampal; and Amygdala therapists.