"What is the influence of psychotherapy over the brain functioning? Is it possible for us to determine in which type of psychotherapy the most significant changes in the brain functioning are observed? If the influence of psychotherapy over the brain is a fact, does this fundamentally change the training in psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy and the inclusion of knowledge from the basic sciences? Psychotherapy can be considered as a type of training that stimulates the patient to learn how to change their behaviour, thinking and regulation of emotions. Psychotherapy is much more than an opportunity to talk to someone with good listening skills. Understanding the relationship between psychotherapy and brain functions is stimulating news and changes the traditional thinking about the place of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, the relations between them in the process of overcoming mental problems and diseases. Psychotherapy is assumed to be a form of learning which suggests that the uptake of information in the process of psychotherapy leads to a change in the expression of genes, thus changing the strength of synaptic connections. The gene sequence does not change under the influence of the environment, but the ability of genes to direct the synthesis of individual proteins depends on environmental factors and is regulated by their influence (Candel,1998). This explains the phenotypic differences between monozygotic twins and discordance of diseases, such as schizophrenia. Any mental condition is abrain state and any mental disorder is a disorder in the work of the brain. The effect of treatment of mental disorders is associated with an effect on structural and functional changes in the brain (Candel,1998). Neuroimaging gives an objective diagnostics of mental disorders, revealing the reasons for their occurrence and therefore allows for the development of more effective methods of treatment and psychotherapy"--
Author(s): Vanya Matanova, Martin Kolev, Pia Tohme, Zlatomira Kostova
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 197
City: New York
Brain-Based Treatment A New Approach or a Well-Forgotten Old One? Neuropsychology and Psychotherapy
Brain-Based Treatment A New Approach or a Well-Forgotten Old One? Neuropsychology and Psychotherapy
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Psychotherapy - Past and Present
Great Discoveries in Neurology and Their Implications in Psychotherapy
Contemporary Theories and Their Place in Psychotherapy
Chapter 2
Mentalization
The Development of the Concept of Mentalization
The Roots of Mentalization in Psychoanalytic Theories
Theory of Mind and Mentalization as a Cognitive Capacity
Mentalization as an Interaction between Affective and Cognitive Components
The Neurobiology of Mentalization
Chapter 3
Reflective Functioning and the Development of the Self
The Development of the Concept of Reflective Functioning
The Role of Mentalization in the Development of the Self
The Effect of Failures in Mentalizing
Chapter 4
Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT)
The Development of MBT and Its Process
The Neurobiological Basis of MBT
Chapter 5
Major Changes Occurring in Adolescence
Psychoanalytic Theories
The Role of Parents and Peers in Identity Formation
Cognitive and Emotional Development and the Adolescent Brain
Emotional Developments
Cognitive Developments
Social Developments
Are Adolescents More at Risk of Developing Mental Health Problems?
Chapter 6
Importance and Development of Mentalization Based Treatment for Adolescents (MBT-A)
Special Considerations in MBT-A
Pre-Mentalizing Modes of Thinking in Adolescence
The Adolescent’s Relationship with the Body
MBT-A as a Brain-Based Treatment
Chapter 7
Contemporary Achievements of Neuroscience
Mirror Neurons and Mental Functioning
The Frontal Cortex and Mental Functioning
The Limbic System and Mental Functioning
Neuroscience and Child Brain Development
Chapter 8
Neuronal Bases of Mental Disorders and Specific Psychotherapeutic Conclusions
Chapter 9
Brain-Based Treatment - A New Approach or a Well-Forgotten Old One?
References
About the Authors
Index
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