Neuro-psychoanalysis

Can the mind be treated without an understanding of the body?

Traditionally, psychoanalysis has considered its domain the mind and neuroscience has claimed the domain of the body. However we understand now that the mind and body cannot be separated but are merely different perspectives from which to view the Self. And we know that illnesses such as chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, autism, attention deficit disorder and depression can be better understood from both perspectives.

It has become clear that there is a compelling need for an exchange between neuroscientists and clinicians. This is being accomplished in the development of a new field called "neuropsychoanalysis." Originated by Mark Solms, neuropsychoanalysis has been closing the gap between the mind and the body.

How does neuropsychoanalysis help people in the therapeutic setting?

Jeffrey Shwarz and Karen Begley, in “The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force,” write about the very basis of therapeutic work, arguing that the brain has the capacity for neural plasticity—to change and to grow throughout life. Neural plasticity means that the patterns of emotion and behavior in an individual can change.

For example, neural plasticity provides us with a model of the brain in which patterns of behavior, established very early, can be changed and more effective ways of relating to others can be developed. Disequilibrium in the stress system can also be altered based on neural plasticity. Traumatic experiences at the beginning of life may have profound effects on the deeper structures of the brain, specifically those that are responsible for basic regulatory capacities. This may result in reducing the individual’s ability to respond to stress situations later in life. However this disequilibrium can be readjusted through the therapeutic relationship so that stress can be managed more effectively.

How can the stress system be strengthened and returned to a state of equilibrium? Just as the mother and baby form an attachment relationship which determines the healthy growth of the baby’s brain, in the same way the attachment relationship of the therapist and the patient also influences patterns in the brain. Therapy can stimulate a change from unhealthy to healthy functioning.

Sue Gerhardt, in "Why Love Matters" explains more about how this change can happen by showing that the brain is experience-dependent. The baby’s brain is only a quarter formed at birth. It thus does a great deal of growing in the first year and the success of its growth and development depends on the amount of positive experience that the baby has. Positive experiences produce brains with more neuronal connections – more richly networked brains.

In particular, between six and twelve months, there is a burst of these synaptical connections in the prefrontal cortex. They achieve their highest density when the developing pleasurable relationship between mother and baby is most intense and attachment bonds are consolidated. When the mother-baby relationship is affected by trauma and an attachment relationship does not form, this will lead to psychological difficulties based on a fragile nervous system. This situation, as I discussed, may be a factor in the development of chronic pain later in life. But there is hope, for it is in a positive attachment relationship between therapist and patient that a healthy nervous system can be reinstated.

Traumatic Brian Injury

In response to the growing number of people who suffer from traumatic brain injury and do not receive the treatment they need, I am currently working with a group of people to develop a grant which would allow us to set up individual and group therapies with traumatic brain injury patients. Using the method outlined by Dr. Mark Solms, the founder of neuropsychoanslysis, we are taking a psychoanalytic approach to working with TBI as well as creating teams of specialists such as neuropsychologists, physical therapists and social workers.

This team approach follows the multidisciplinary model that is used in chronic pain treatment. In adding a psychoanalytic perspective, we believe that the psychological pre and post-conditions of each individual’s experience can be addressed.

California Neuropsychoanalysis Group

You can find more information on these topics at the California Neuropsychoanslysis Group.