An edited collection from some of the most influential writers in mental health. Books in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology have collectively sold close to 1 million copies and contributed to a revolution in cutting-edge mental health care. An interpersonal neurobiology of human development enables us to understand that the structure and function of the mind and brain are shaped by experiences, especially those involving emotional relationships. Here, the three series editors have enlisted some of the most widely read IPNB authors to reflect on the impact of IPNB on their clinical practice and offer words of wisdom to the hundreds of thousands of IPNB-informed clinicians around the world. Topics include: Dan Hill on dysregulation and impaired states of consciousness; Bonnie Badenoch on therapeutic presence; Kathy Steele on motivational systems in complex trauma.

A brief guide to the most important neuroscience concepts for all mental health professionals. Louis Cozolino helps clinicians to broaden their thinking and deepen their clinical toolbox through an understanding of neuroscience, brain development, epigenetics, and the role of attachment in brain development and behavior. The effective therapist must have knowledge of evolution and neuroanatomy, as well as the systems of our brains and how they work together to give rise to who we are, how we thrive, and why we suffer. This book will give clinicians all they need to understand the social brain, the developing brain, the executive brain, consciousness, attachment, trauma, memory, and the latest information about clinical assessment. Key figures and terms of neuroscience, along with numerous case examples, bring the material to life. Cozolino is one of the most gifted clinical writers on neuroscience, and his long- awaited pocket guide is a must- buy for any clinician working on the cutting edge of treatment.

The central concepts of the theory of interpersonal neurobiology. Many fields have explored the nature of mental life from psychology to psychiatry, literature to linguistics. Yet no common “framework” where each of these important perspectives can be honored and integrated with one another has been created in which a person seeking their collective wisdom can find answers to some basic questions, such as, What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? How do we know things, how are we conscious of ourselves? What is the mind? What makes a mind healthy or unwell? And, perhaps most importantly: What is the connection among the mind, the brain, and our relationships with one another? Our mental lives are profoundly relational. The interactions we have with one another shape our mental world. Yet as any neuroscientist will tell you, the mind is shaped by the firing patterns in the brain. And so how can we reconcile this tension—that the mind is both embodied and relational? Interpersonal Neurobiology is a way of thinking across this apparent conceptual divide. This Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology is designed to aid in your personal and professional application of the interpersonal neurobiology approach to developing a healthy mind, an integrated brain, and empathic relationships. It is also designed to assist you in seeing the intricate foundations of interpersonal neurobiology as you read other books in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. Praise for Daniel J. Siegel's books: “Siegel is a must-read author for anyone interested in the science of the mind.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships “[S]tands out for its skillful weaving together of the interpersonal, the inner world, the latest science, and practical applications.” —Jack Kornfield, PhD, founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center, and author of A Path With Heart “Siegel has both a meticulous understanding of the roles of different parts of the brain and an intimate relationship with mindfulness . . . [A]n exciting glimpse of an uncharted territory of neuroscience.” —Scientific American Mind “Dr. Daniel Siegel is one of the most thoughtful, eloquent, scientifically solid and reputable exponents of mind/body/brain integration in the world today.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, Full Catastrophe Living, and Coming to Our Senses

Demystifying neurobiology and presenting it anew for the social-work audience. The art and science of relationship are at the core of clinical social work. Research in neurobiology adds a new layer to our understanding of the protective benefits of relationship and specifically, to our understanding of the neurobiology of attachment and early brain development. This second edition of Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work explores the application of recent research in neuroscience to prevention and intervention in multiple systems, settings, and areas such as the neurobiology of stress and the stress response system, the impact of early adversity and toxic stress on brain development, early childhood and adolescent brain development, and the application of this science to prevention and intervention in areas such as child welfare and juvenile justice. Social workers collaborate with individuals, families, communities, and groups that experience adversity, and at times, traumatic stressors. Research in neuroscience adds to our models of risk and resilience; informing our understanding of the processes by which adversity and trauma impact multiple indicators of wellbeing across time. Social workers can use this knowledge to inform their work and to support the neuroprotective benefit of relationship in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. This text provides essential information for cutting-edge social work practice.

Clinical musings on the nature of reality and “known experience.” Therapists must rely on their clients’ reporting of experience in order to assess, treat, and offer help. Yet we all experience the world through various filters of one sort or another, and our experiences are transformed through several nonconscious processes before reaching our conscious awareness. Science, philosophy, and wisdom traditions share the belief that our awareness is very restricted. How, then, can anyone accurately report their experience, let alone get help with it? Neuropsychologist Aldrich Chan examines how our experience of reality is assembled and shaped by biological, psychological, sociocultural, and existential processes. Each chapter explores processes within these domains that may act as “veils.” Topics in the book include: the default mode network, cognitive distortions, decision-making heuristics, the interconnected mind, memory, and cultural concepts of distress. By understanding the ways in which reality can be distorted, clinicians can more effectively help their clients reach their personal psychotherapeutic goals.

Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience to better understand emotion. We are hardwired to connect with one another, and we connect through our emotions. Our brains, bodies, and minds are inseparable from the emotions that animate them. Normal human development relies on the cultivation of relationships with others to form and nurture the self-regulatory circuits that enable emotion to enrich, rather than enslave, our lives. And just as emotionally traumatic events can tear apart the fabric of family and psyche, the emotions can become powerful catalysts for the transformations that are at the heart of the healing process. In this book, the latest addition to the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, leading neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, therapy researchers, and clinicians illuminate how to regulate emotion in a healthy way. A variety of emotions, both positive and negative, are examined in detail, drawing on both research and clinical observations. The role of emotion in bodily regulation, dyadic connection, marital communication, play, well-being, health, creativity, and social engagement is explored. The Healing Power of Emotion offers fresh, exciting, original, and groundbreaking work from the leading figures studying and working with emotion today. Contributors include: Jaak Panksepp, Stephen W. Porges, Colwyn Trevarthen, Ed Tronick, Allan N. Schore, Daniel J. Siegel, Diana Fosha, Pat Ogden, Marion F. Solomon, Susan Johnson, and Dan Hughes.

The last fifteen years have produced an explosion of research on the neurobiology of attachment. This research, which explores the ways in which affect regulation play key roles in determining the structure and function of the developing brain and mind, has led to a revolution in the way that parent-child relationships are viewed. Although these insights have informed psychiatry as well as cognitive and psychoanalytic psychology, their application to social work practice, education, and research has been lacking. Here for the first time ever, social work educators Jeffrey Applegate and Janet Shapiro demystify neurobiology and present it anew with the social work audience specifically in mind. Social workers, by virtue of their work with at-risk children and families, occupy a unique position from which to employ this new research in prevention and intervention. This lack of education about neurobiology has unfortunately fostered misconceptions among social workers that these theories are too academic and thus irrelevant to clinical practice. Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work corrects this misconception and introduces social workers to the powerful and practical ideas that are coming out of neurobiological research. The research summarized here offers new insights about the crucial role that relationships play in human development and in professional helping efforts. To set the stage for this inquiry, the authors introduce fundamentals of brain structure, development, and functioning in the first parts of the book. This introduction is intended as a primer and proceeds from the assumption that many readers are relatively unfamiliar with the field of brain science. Building on this foundation, the authors go on to describe the manner in which memory and affect regulation are neuropsychological processes. The next chapters of the book delve into the concepts of attachment. Specifically, the authors are concerned with how precursors to attachment evolve during the earliest months of an infant’s life and how various attachment classifications (secure, insecure, disorganized) lead to affect regulation—the ability of a child to regulate emotion. Throughout the book these concepts are discussed in the context of what social workers face when trying to find explanatory structures for the ways in which early childhood experiences affect later life. Later chapters turn even more directly toward practice. Using case examples—including adolescent parents and their children, children with a depressed parent, and children of substance abusing parents—Applegate and Shapiro show clinicians how to make use of neurobiological concepts in designing treatment plans and interventions. One chapter contains three extended case examples, with commentary, representing the three most common intervention models taught in schools of social work—psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and systemic. Various settings, such as community mental health, family service agencies, and child welfare, are also discussed. In order to be effective and meet the complex challenges of the twenty-first century, social work professionals must join with their colleagues in other disciplines in coordinated efforts to integrate and apply newly emerging knowledge toward the enhancement of human well-being. Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work is a great place to start this process of integration and learning.

This book, part of the acclaimed Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, brings interpersonal neurobiology into the counseling room, weaving the concepts of neurobiology into the ever-changing flow of therapy. Neuroscientific discoveries have begun to illuminate the workings of the active brain in intricate detail. In fact, sometimes it seems that in order to be a cutting-edge therapist, not only do you need knowledge of traditional psychotherapeutic models, but a solid understanding of the role the brain plays as well. But theory is never enough. You also need to know how to apply the theories to work with actual clients during sessions. In easy-to-understand prose, Being a Brain-Wise Therapist reviews the basic principles about brain structure, function, and development, and explains the neurobiological correlates of some familiar diagnostic categories. You will learn how to make theory come to life in the midst of clinical work, so that the principles of interpersonal neurobiology can be applied to a range of patients and issues, such as couples, teens, and children, and those dealing with depression, anxiety, and other disorders. Liberal use of exercises and case histories enliven the material and make this an essential guide for seamlessly integrating the latest neuroscientific research into your therapeutic practice.

Scientists, clinicians, and mindfulness teachers discuss training the mind to bring more health and resiliency to our lives. In this book, Daniel J. Siegel and Marion F. Solomon have gathered leading writers to discuss such topics as: attention, resilience, and mindfulness; neuroplasticity—how the brain changes its function and structure in response to experience; “loving awareness” as the foundation for mindful living; how mindfulness training can help build empathy and compassion in clinicians; self-compassion; addictions; using breath practice to cultivate well-being; tools for clients who feel disconnected; “therapeutic presence”—how we show up for our clients, how we embody being aware and receptive. The latest entry in the acclaimed Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, this book brings fresh voices to the all-important topics of meditation, mental training, and consciousness. Mind, Consciousness, and Well-Being offers a unique window into the science and art of taking our understanding of the mind and consciousness and applying it to cultivating well-being in our personal lives and our professional work. Contributors include Pat Ogden, Shauna Shapiro, Bonnie Goldstein, Trudy Goodman Kornfield, Jack Kornfield, Kristin Neff, Judson Brewer, Gary Small, Amishi Jha, and more.

Addresses the flurry of questions about the practical application of neuroscience in clinical treatment. Recent advances in research in the fields of attachment, trauma, and the neurobiology of emotion have shown that mind, brain, and body are inextricably linked. This new research has revolutionized our understanding of the process of change in psychotherapy and in life, and raised a flurry of questions about the practical application of neuroscience in clinical treatment, particularly with those who have experienced early relational trauma and neglect. What insight does neuroscience offer to our clinical understanding of early life experiences? Can we use the plasticity of the brain to aid in therapeutic change? If so, how? Changing Minds in Therapy explores the dynamics of brain-mind change, translating insights from these new fields of study into practical tips for therapists to use in the consulting room. Drawing from a wide range of clinical approaches and deftly integrating the scholarly with the practical, Margaret Wilkinson presents contemporary neuroscience, as well as attachment and trauma theories, in an accessible way, illuminating the many ways in which cutting edge research may inform clinical practice.