The modern scientific world is extremely interested in exploring the brain to figure out exactly how it functions. Scientists believe that learning about different depths and dimensions of the operation of our brain, it can give us major insights into the reasons why people do what they do. This is what brings us to neuroscience. Which is the study of the brain, roughly speaking.
Let’s dig in a little deeper and see what neuroscience is about and its implications in Psychotherapy.
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What is Neuroscience?
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system. It is concerned with the biological and chemical processes that make the brain function. Neurobiology has developed at an enormous pace over the past few years, thanks to the advancements being made in this discipline.
The neuroscience findings are bridging the gap between the mind and the body. We are now closer than ever to find the answer to the long-debated mind-body issue. Neuroscience has shown that the biological and psychological processes are in fact explainable through the concepts of monism.
Theories aside, awareness of neuroscience and its impact on psychology can be of great help in psychotherapy. Therapists who are aware of this discipline can make use of it to enhance the effects of their counselling sessions.
Neuroscience in Psychology
Psychology and neuroscience can build on one another to create better and faster results for individuals. Neuroscience has come up with new ways to assess the biological processes that affect behaviour. These insights can help psychotherapists come up with more effective solutions for solving problems for individuals.
Neuroscience has introduced the concept of neuroplasticity. Which in simple terms means that the brain can change. It is not fixed, and it reacts to external actions or events. Acceding to this concept, your brain keeps changing as you learn new things. New neural networks are created at all ages. This means that a change in behaviour is possible. Human beings in fact can change.
How does this sit with psychotherapy? The purpose behind the whole practice is to help individuals learn new positive behaviours and to get rid of the ones that are not serving them well. With the neuroplasticity insights, psychotherapists can build their counselling on these insights to ensure that the desired behaviour is achieved.
Neurogenesis is another concept of neuroscience that directly relates to psychology. According to neurogenesis, building new neurons is possible. The learning process generates new neuroses and it helps make new neural networks. This is the exact purpose of counseling. When a psychotherapist is talking to a client, they a helping them learn a new behavior. Learning that new behavior will create new neurons that get linked up to reinforce the behavior in the individual. Thisarticle contains more in-depth information about Neuroscience Psychology that you can check out.
Better Understanding of Emotions
Brain imaging combined with neuroscience technologies has shown that different emotions respond to different parts of our brains. These insights gathered from the brain scans have now proved all the concepts that psychotherapy was predicated on. This gives a better understanding of the emotions experienced by human beings as well as the chemical as well as the biological basis of these emotions.
Neuroscience and Behavioral Psychology
Another interesting thing to note is that most of the concepts and ideas of neuroscience are completely in line with what behavioral psychologists have been saying for years. The behaviorist’s concept of mind-body as being monist is being supported by the finding of neuroscience. The brain seems to be the one that affects the mind the most and the mind is in fact a product of biological and chemical processes. This has been a breakthrough that has given a better understanding of the way the mind-body function.
Neuroscience has various implications in psychology, some of which we have talked about here. It can be of big value to psychotherapists as it gives a better understanding and clearer view of how the brain orients itself under different conditions. Incorporating neuroscience with psychotherapy can help therapists come up with new and more effective ways of helping individuals achieve the desired behavior. Neuroscience provides a biological foundation for therapy and can help counselors incorporate these insights into their counseling practice.