Incorporating a neuropsychological perspective into practice: A practical guide

Abstract

There has been significant interest in the contribution of neuropsychological and neurocognitive themes to therapeutic practice and interventions. In part this has been stimulated by the developments in brain imaging such as fMRI which have significantly increased our understanding of the brain and encouraged greater collaboration between the sometimes distant disciplines of the physiological and psychological (Brooks & Stein, 2015). These neurocognitive insights have added biological support to longstanding therapeutic theories such as attachment as well as the centrality of emotion and how therapeutic intervention may result in changes in chemical and neurological function (Siegel, 2001). Psychotherapeutic approaches such as Compassionate Mind Theory (Gilbert, 2010), Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT) (Bateman & Fonagy, 2004), as well as traditional models such as psychoanalysis incorporate neurocognitive findings and highlight a biological basis to these theories (Clarkin, 2006, Jimenez, 2006). The field of trauma; and in particular Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), has been revolutionised by findings that implicate the role of the amygdala, hippocampus and related neural networks in the development, maintenance and treatment of PSTD (Garfinkel & Liberzon, 2009).