Interpersonal Neurobiology Research Articles

The Emergence of Acceptance and Commitment Sandtray Therapy: A Novel Framework

This paper introduces Acceptance and Commitment Sandtray Therapy (ACST) as a new branch of sand therapy theory. As a novel framework, it offers a fresh approach to conducting sandtray therapy and provides additional avenues for pursuing research. The creation and articulation of ACST is an evolution of my unique experience as an enthusiastic and dedicated student of both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Sandtray Therapy (STT). Part of this article’s purpose is to introduce ACT’s foundational philosophy and theory. I achieve this by briefly describing radical behaviorism, functional contextualism, and relational frame theory. However, the primary focus of this paper is to highlight the six core psychological processes used in ACST and provide an example using a fictitious client’s tray with those processes in mind. Suggested protocols for implementing this framework, along with therapeutic interventional prompts appropriate for its application, are also offered. This work is significant in that it bridges two worlds: the contextual behavioral science realm of ACT and the interpersonal neurobiology domain of STT. With the emergence of this new model, new possibilities are on the horizon for both professional communities.

Radically Embodied Compassion Training: Cultivating Psychotherapist Courage, Distress Tolerance and Compassionate Responsiveness via Traditional Martial Arts

Psychotherapeutic encounters inevitably entail moments and episodes of disaffiliation, ruptures and conflict. These events can pose significant challenges and threats to both client and therapist. Resolving and repairing such ruptures requires therapists to tolerate not only their clients' but also their own distress, to better afford the courage and wisdom to respond compassionately. Whilst there is plenty of excellent research and guidance on how to respond to and repair alliance ruptures, few approaches explicitly focus on the development of the underlying (neuro)physiological capacities, embodied motivational switching abilities and somatic resources to be able to do so in situations of high relational threat. Traditional martial arts provide a powerful and fruitful means to entrain these competencies and processes, which can feasibly be transferred to psychotherapeutic encounters. This paper outlines the development of training workshops for therapists/clinicians based on traditional martial arts principles and practices, embodied neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology. This overview will thus help illuminate how such training may afford therapists/clinicians greater distress tolerance and compassionate responsiveness, otherwise termed Radically Embodied Compassion (Clapton & Hiskey, 2020), in difficult therapeutic encounters such as alliance ruptures.

Opening the heart: exploring the interpersonal neurobiology of spiritual practices suitable for public education

ABSTRACT Modern education has prioritised the intellectual dimension, while giving insufficient attention to children’s emotional and spiritual development. This article offers an interdisciplinary understanding of how public education can nurture spirituality and the human capacities for compassion and love, also called the ‘qualities of the heart’. The paper explores the interpersonal neurobiology that underlies ‘heart opening’ spiritual practices, conceptualised as both spiritual and neurobiological phenomena. I discuss the scientific foundations for spiritual practices that can be suitable for education in secular public schools. Starting with my own empirical research in transpersonal psychology, the paper brings together research in interpersonal neurobiology with perspectives from spiritual traditions of yoga and meditation. The aim is to contribute to developing a framework for pedagogical practices that helps children develop their spirituality and loving and compassionate relationships, and feel more connected to themselves, others and the world, suitable for promoting children’s spiritual development through religious education, moral education, and life skills education in secular public schools.

Childhood attachment insecurity and shame-proneness in adulthood: Implications for clinical social work practice

ABSTRACT Shame-proneness refers to one’s dispositional tendency to experience shame across a variety of situations. Shame-proneness is significantly related to a wide range of mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, and more. Attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology suggest that secure attachment protects against shame-proneness, whereas insecure attachment contributes to shame-proneness. However, there is scant empirical research exploring this relationship. This study explored childhood attachment with primary caregivers as a predictor of shame-proneness in adulthood. A sample of 340 adults, U.S. residents aged 18 and over, was recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online crowdsourcing platform. Multiple regression analyses revealed that certain insecure attachment styles, specifically anxiety and disorganization, significantly related to shame-proneness, whereas avoidance did not. Secure attachment was negatively related to shame-proneness, but the relationship was statistically insignificant. Social workers and other mental health professionals can benefit from an increased understanding of the relationship between childhood attachment and shame-proneness that this study provides.

Attachment and emotional regulation: examining the role of prefrontal cortex functions, executive functions, and mindfulness in their relationship.

Attachment is a prominent area of psychological research, with its relevance linked to executive functions, mindfulness, and emotional regulation. The purpose of this study is to examine this relationship among these aforementioned four constructs and propose a model to be tested in the future. Based on the current trends using the Interpersonal Neurobiology approach, which assumes prefrontal cortex functions to include other socioemotional resources such as empathy, morality, insight, behavior, and body regulation. Our study included prefrontal cortical functions alongside executive functions. The assessment instruments used were Attachment-Based Cognitive Representations Scale, Prefrontal Cortex Functions Scale, Webexec, Five Facet Mindfulness Scale, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. We hypothesized that attachment would be the strongest predictor of emotional regulation. The participants in the study were 539 college students (mean = 20.21; sd = 1.57); (68% female and 32%, male). Our a priori research hypothesis was supported, with an additional finding that trait mindfulness was also a significant predictor. The strongest correlations with attachment styles were with trait mindfulness and emotional regulation. We conducted path analyses of two different models for secure and insecure attachment. The path analyses showed that secure attachment scores were negatively related, and insecure attachment scores were positively related to difficulties in emotional regulation scores. Furthermore, trait mindfulness and prefrontal cortex functions also mediated this relationship. However, there was no significant relationship between executive functions and difficulties in emotional regulation scores, even though it was significantly related to attachment. Results and implications are discussed.

The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community

The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community

An interpersonal neurobiology perspective on the mind and mental health: personal, public, and planetary well-being

This article outlines an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective on the fundamental components that comprise mental health and promote well-being. The central aim of this paper is to answer essential but often overlooked questions related to the field of mental health, such as: What is the mind? What is the basis of well-being? What is the self and how does it develop? We will offer scientific support for the IPNB position that the mind is relational and embodied and that integration is the basis of mental health. It will also describe how the self extends beyond the individual, arising from and inextricably connected to the social, cultural and planetary systems in which we exist. IPNB is not a form of therapy; rather, it is a framework that focuses on deepening our understanding of the mind and human development across the lifespan. Drawing from interdisciplinary principles from a range of fields including physics, mathematics, neuroscience, and psychology, we will provide a practical view of the underlying basis of mental suffering and the scientific mechanisms of change to improve mental well-being. These core principles are building blocks of clinical evaluation and treatment that can be applied across multiple theoretical orientations and client populations. The special emphasis in this article is on the issue of psychache as an underlying cause of suicide and its relationship to personal, public and planetary health.

Twenty frequent errors and inaccuracies in the diagnostic evaluation of personality disorders

ContextThe ICD-11 proposal and the incorporation of the alternative Model of DMS-5, Section III (AMPD), a hybrid system which combines categorical and dimensional criteria for the assessment of personality disorders, based in levels of severity of impairment in self and interpersonal functioning, has permitted the alignment of descriptive psychiatric nosology with psychoanalytic frames that use the same dimension in the diagnostic evaluation and empirical research of the treatment of personality disorders. This approach has also allowed the conceptual bridging of neurobehaviorally-linked personality dimensions and psychostructural organization. Most diagnostic methodologies of personality disorders explore: 1) the perception of subjective experience, 2) observable and inferential behaviors, and 3) psychological structure and processes mediating self and interpersonal functioning. ObjectivesThis article highlights 20 frequent errors and inaccuracies on the diagnostic evaluations of personality disorders that are described in the ICD-11 proposal and the Model of DMS-5, Section III (AMPD). MethodThe study exposes the difficulties encountered in exploring subjective experience and underlying psychological structure to develop and apply overarching frameworks between descriptive phenomenology and psychological organization, on one side, and interpersonal neurobiology and psychological motivation on the other toward explanatory diagnostic formulations with therapeutic and prognostic implications. ResultsThe proposal of an alternative model for personality disorders in the DSM-5, section III, toward hybrid systems which combine categorical and dimensional features to personality pathology has allowed the alignment of descriptive psychiatric nosology with psychoanalytic frames that use the same dimension in the assessment and empirical research of the treatment of personality disorders. ConclusionA diagnostic evaluation for patients is an opportunity to systematically explore personal and life circumstances, toward the possibility of a mutative reorganization. For clinicians, every new diagnostic assessment provides an occasion for a critical analysis of past experiences, and the feasibility of assimilating new information and findings from the contemporary empirical investigation of the diagnostic assessment and treatment of personality disorders.

Connection, Hungers, and Time Structuring: A Relational, Inclusive, and Transpersonal Development of Autonomy

The author offers a critique of Berne’s concept of autonomy and its egocentric, Western-centric, and potentially oppressive ideals. She advocates for homonomy as an addition to autonomy but prefers the terminology of “connection” for its wider meanings, its link to our human hungers, and its simple and accessible language. She suggests transactional analysts from all fields pay attention to our interdependence and aim for greater connection with self, other, the environment, and the transpersonal, for which autonomy does not fully account. Examining the concept of connection from a relational approach and linking it with contemporary interpersonal neurobiology, the author highlights the importance of connection in relationship and with the environment for the development of the brain and a cohesive self. Using psychotherapy client vignettes, she illustrates how a relational approach to all modes of time structuring can be a pathway into deeper connection and transformation for the client, the practitioner, and the wider world.

Sensor Technology and Intelligent Systems in Anorexia Nervosa: Providing Smarter Healthcare Delivery Systems.

Ubiquitous technology, big data, more efficient electronic health records, and predictive analytics are now at the core of smart healthcare systems supported by artificial intelligence. In the present narrative review, we focus on sensing technologies for the healthcare of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). We employed a framework inspired by the Interpersonal Neurobiology Theory (IPNB), which posits that human experience is characterized by a flow of energy and information both within us (within our whole body), and between us (in the connections we have with others and with nature). In line with this framework, we focused on sensors designed to evaluate bodily processes (body sensors such as implantable sensors, epidermal sensors, and wearable and portable sensors), human social interaction (sociometric sensors), and the physical environment (indoor and outdoor ambient sensors). There is a myriad of man-made sensors as well as nature-based sensors such as plants that can be used to design and deploy intelligent systems for human monitoring and healthcare. In conclusion, sensing technologies and intelligent systems can be employed for smarter healthcare of AN and help to relieve the burden of health professionals. However, there are technical, ethical, and environmental sustainability issues that must be considered prior to implementing these systems. A joint collaboration of professionals and other members of the society involved in the healthcare of individuals with AN can help in the development of these systems. The evolution of cyberphysical systems should also be considered in these collaborations.

Ethics in Psychotherapy: Informed Consent, Digital Professionalism, and Sexual Misconduct.

Ethics in Psychotherapy: Informed Consent, Digital Professionalism, and Sexual Misconduct.

Book Review - Interpersonal Neurobiology and Clinical Practice

This is a review of the consilient book Interpersonal Neurobiology and Clinical Practice (IPNB) by Segiel et al., released at the end of 2021. The book is both an accessible and complex consilient demonstration of the principles and integration of IPNB with some new material on the influence of COVID-19 and moving mental healthcare into virtual spaces.

Telepathy As a Natural And Normal Process of Life Contextual Support from Biology, Psychology, and Philosophy

Telepathy has never enjoyed acceptance in mainstream psychological science, typically marginalized as parapsychology or dismissed as a form of pseudoscience. The substantial body of empirical research on telepathy is routinely countered by criticism from the academic mainstream for methodological flaws and poor replicability. Moreover, there is no generally accepted scientific theory that could account for the mechanisms or products of telepathic phenomena. This article attempts to provide a conceptual framework for understanding telepathic phenomena by identifying it as a special case of intersubjectivity. It provides numerous examples of intersubjectivity as it manifests in the biological, physical, and behavioural/psychological domains. Telepathy, as cognitive intersubjectivity, is defined as the simultaneous non-verbal, non-gestural sharing of thoughts or mental processes among two or more individuals. Contemporary theoretical support for telepathy is anchored in the emerging frameworks of enactivism, radical embodied cognition, and interpersonal neurobiology.

Attachment Neuroscience and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Nonviolence Philosophy: Implications for the 21st Century and Beyond

This article focuses on the psychology of principled nonviolent activism, specifically ideas associated with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence and how they are compatible with attachment theory and related areas of modern neuroscience (e.g., attachment/social neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology). The proposed Kingian Neuro-Relational Theory (KNRT) recognizes King as having a relational development approach to social justice. KNRT offers a way of understanding King’s ideas to aid research and develop strategies for reducing many forms of societal violence, with eventual outcomes of improving mental and physical health via stress reduction, and subsequent creation of a more socially just world. KNRT is an integrative, multidisciplinary approach, incorporating the philosophy of nonviolence, attachment theory, social neuroscience, ecological systems theory, and personalistic philosophy. The theory highlights developmental and clinical implications of moving beyond tactical/pragmatic nonviolent activism (nonviolent direct action) to activism via embracing nonviolence as a principled way of life (nonviolent daily interactions). This theory is building on an earlier project that conveyed how King’s philosophy of nonviolence is related to modern–day diversity and inclusion efforts.

Parenting principles primer.

A good understanding of parenting principles helps clinicians to advise parents how to optimally support their child's brain development. Parenting principles include co-regulation, attachment, and the five universal parenting strategies that produce self-regulation and attachment. This primer provides updated knowledge translation from evidence-based literature, by integrating interpersonal neurobiology with parenting intervention research. Secure attachment to the parent decreases a child's stress responses and increases their emotion regulation skills. The child needs support from their parent when stress exceeds their self-regulation skills. Emotion regulation is foundational for all aspects of cognitive and interpersonal functioning. Parent empathy and problem-solving are required to support development of the child's self-regulation and problem-solving, which in turn foster communication of empathy toward others and development of other skills. The warmth and structure of the five universal parenting strategies provide a straightforward conceptualization of authoritative parenting, which builds secure attachment and self-regulation described by interpersonal neurobiology. Parenting principles are simple to remember when integrating the five universal parenting strategies (attention and empathy, predictable daily routines, consistent sequence within the routines, household rules, and coaching skills) with the four S's of attachment (Seen + Soothed + Safe for Secure attachment).

Attachment Theory and the Cry of Dereliction

Recent discussions in analytic theology and philosophy have explored how traumatic events can interrupt a person’s experience of union with God. Sparked by Eleonore Stump’s book Atonement, this problem has been treated as a type of “stain on the soul” relating to morally lamentable leftovers in human psyches after horrendous sin has been committed. While Stump deploys a science-engaged model of atonement to address many kinds of stains on the soul, one kind remains unaccounted for, namely, stains on the soul caused by trauma in which the survivor is innocent of any moral wrongdoing. How might such “posttraumatic stains on the soul” (PTSS) be healed through atonement? In this paper we offer the beginnings of a science-engaged model of atonement to fill this recent lacuna. We zero in on one particular kind of PTSS, namely, the experience trauma survivors can have of blaming God for their suffering. Drawing insights in psychological science from attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology on the role of empathy for human flourishing, we sketch a model of atonement to explain how it might be that God, without being morally culpable, nevertheless makes reparation for persons who feel angry at God and/or alienated from God as a result of suffering trauma.

Science catching up: Experiential family therapy and neuroscience.

Experiential family therapy, pioneered by Virginia Satir and Carl Whitaker, centered the experience of the "here and now," human authenticity and congruent communication in the work of psychotherapy. Their approach-often considered atypical and atheoretical-was popular for a while, then relegated as behavioral and cognitive theories developed. However, with the proliferation of modern neuroscience, particularly the field of Interpersonal Neurobiology, therapists can see neuroscience research providing hard data and respective frameworks delineating the underlying architecture for understanding the connections between the mind, emotions, behavior, and relationships. This article highlights the neurobiological mechanisms that explain why classic experiential family therapy was so powerful. The main tenets of both Carl Whitaker's symbolic experiential family therapy as well as Virginia Satir's model for peoplemaking are illuminated through the postulates and scientific findings of interpersonal neurobiology.

Reconceptualizing non-pharmacologic approaches to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS): A theoretical and evidence–based approach. Part II: The clinical application of nonpharmacologic care for NAS/NOWS

There has been increasing emphasis on the importance of the development of self-regulatory capacities of the individual as the cornerstone of development. The caregivers' abilities to manage their own attention, emotions, physiology and behaviors influence the development of the child's self-regulatory and interactive capacities, and thereby their overall development. Newborns prenatally exposed to psychoactive substances and/or to other prenatal stressors such as maternal poor nutrition, increased maternal stress, trauma, difficult and/or impoverished environments, in tandem with genetic predispositions, can result in alterations to their neurodevelopment that predispose them to self-regulatory problems that can be expressed at any stage of life. The care of infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)/Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) and their mother/caregiver is a window of opportunity to assess the regulatory and co-regulatory capacities of both, and to provide holistic interventions with the goal of empowering the mother/caregiver in their own self-knowledge/self-regulation capacities and their crucial role in promoting the healthy development of their children. Non-pharmacologic care for the infant with NAS/NOWS is the first line of treatment and of paramount importance. Yet, current approaches are based on a limited scope of infant functioning, and the scoring systems in current use do not result in individualized and specific non-pharmacologic care of the infant, which can result in excessive or insufficient medication and a lack of caregiver appreciation for the infant's strengths, difficulties and early development. The interventions described here are based on the infant's signs of dysregulation in four neurobehavioral subsystems that can be dysregulated by NAS/NOWS, the infant's adaptive or maladaptive responses to return to a regulated functioning, and the co-regulatory behaviors of the infant and the mother/caregiver. In Part I of this two-part series on re-conceptualizing non-pharmacologic care for NAS/NOWS we laid the foundation for a new treatment approach, one grounded in developmental theory and evidence-based observations of infant and interpersonal neurobiology. Here, in Part II, we outline actionable, individually tailored evaluations and approaches to non-pharmacologic NAS/NOWS treatment based on strategies to support the regulatory capacities and development of 4 key domains: 1) autonomic; 2) motor/tone; 3) sleep/awake state control; and 4) sensory modulation subsystems.

Animal-assisted psychotherapy for developmental trauma through the lens of interpersonal neurobiology of trauma: Creating connection with self and others.

Animal-assisted psychotherapy for developmental trauma through the lens of interpersonal neurobiology of trauma: Creating connection with self and others.

An Examination of Child-Centered Play Therapy and Synergetic Play Therapy

ABSTRACT Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) and Synergetic Play Therapy (SPT) are theories used in the counseling profession to promote healing in child clients. Whereas CCPT has a long-standing history, SPT is relatively new to the field and incorporates ideas from many sources including CCPT, Gestalt Play Therapy, Experiential Play Therapy, attachment theory, and Interpersonal Neurobiology. In this paper, we compare and contrast the philosophies and goals of both models as well as the convergence and divergence in protocols related to treatment progression, toys, limit-setting, and therapeutic statements. We also explore the importance of the relationship and the role of the therapist. This paper concludes with a hypothetical case scenario to further highlight the similarities and differences between CCPT and SPT therapists in action.