A307 Psychotherapy from the Inside Out: The Brain of the Mindful Therapist

As we continue to discover more about the deeply social nature of the brain, we are moving towards remarkable new insights into what traditional notions of "mindfulness" mean in the context of human relationships. It is becoming ever clearer that it is the clinician's own level of awareness and neural integration that is at the heart of the therapeutic process. This course will focus on how neuroscience can complement traditional contemplative practices and explore how to enhance deeper levels of integration in ourselves and in our clients. You'll learn about the nine levels of neural integration and how to work at each level, both in your own self-development and with your clients. We'll explore the new findings about the mirror neuron system and how the circuits involved in emotional resonance and empathy can enhance your understanding of others and of your self. We'll pay special attention to the role of "mindsight" -the interweaving of insight and empathy-and how it leads to changes in emotional self-regulation, attuned communication, and mental well-being. This course will enable you to dive deeply into the integration within your own lives so that you can create the interpersonal foundation for healing in others.

Meet The Instructor

Daniel Siegel, is an associate clinical professor at UCLA and author of The Developing Mind, a pioneering book about the neurobiology of human emotion and interpersonal connection. His most recent book, Parenting from the Inside Out, provides a practical guide to what the latest findings of neuroscience can teach us about how best to raise children.

Course Contents

Session 1: An Overview • Neural integration of the therapist's own brain • Healing relationships

Session 2: Integration of Consciousness • How to develop receptive awareness • Attentional focus and the "hub of the mind"

Session 3: Vertical Integration: The Embodied Mind • Connecting the wisdom of the body and reflections of the mind • Assessing nonverbal signals, somatic responses • Insight and empathy

Session 4: Bilateral Integration • Differentiated processes of left and right brain • How to integrate separate elements of cerebral processing

Session 5: Memory Integration • Implicit memory • How the past biases present experiences

Session 6: Narrative Integration • Passive or active as authors of our lives • Deeper meaning of how our story is embedded in the brain

Session 7: State Integration • Linking many different brain states • How therapist opens to the states of the client's brain

Session 8: Temporal Integration • Confronting the reality of time • Embracing the reality of death

Session 9: Interpersonal Integration • Therapist's history of relationship • Early attachment experiences and healing intimate connections

Session 10: "Transpirational" Integration • Neural basis of the unity of all things • Beyond the bodily-define self

Session 11: Overview of Neural Integration • Review of therapeutic applications of integrative processes

Session 12: Mindsight • Interpersonal neurobiology as a framework • Insight and empathy to nurture healing in ourselves and others

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the nine forms of neural integration that emerge from interpersonal neurobiology
2. Discuss the overlap among psychotherapy, attachment relationships, mindful practices, and the integrative functions of the middle aspect of the prefrontal cortex
3. Describe how, according to neural plasticity, the focus of attention can alter the structure and function of the brain
4. Discuss how insight and empathy emerge within the circuits of the brain.
5. Name concrete ways to promote neural integration within oneself as a clinician and within clients in the therapeutic relationship

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