Neuroscience in Counseling

A central notion in counseling that is based on neuroscience is that you can practice being the person you want to become.

The reason this approach works is that our neurological system, which includes our brain and the rest of our body, goes by the rule that neurons that are activated in association with each other tend to form patterns of thought, feeling, and other actions.

But there are factors that apply to this that affect outcomes. One of these is that the neurotransmitters that mediate the way neurons are activated have much to do with the success of behavioral change. For example, we find it difficult to change if we feel stress. Change comes with relaxation–which is sometimes referred to as emotional regulation.

To be able to feel emotional regulation, one path to it involves learning how to be aware of breathing. As pranayama yoga and neuroscience have shown, how you breath has a great deal to do with whether you feel relaxed – with whether you reach a state of emotional regulation. In this state, the neurotransmitters governing your mood change, allowing you to feel and think with greater self-awareness than is possible in other states.

A reliable way to make use of breathing and greater self-awareness in emotional regulation is mindfulness, which involves allowing your attention to go to what you want to be mindful of. When you allow your attention to go to a state of being that is regulated, you are able to significantly change how you respond to experiences. This is sometimes referred to as responding rather than reacting. With practice, you learn how to automatically access your resources for regulation when you encounter stress. This can even go as far as becoming something that is automatic.

Life is good. Therapy based on neuroscience begins with the assumption that your body and mind constitute a system that has evolved to heal. We are by nature creatures who thrive on health, who always seek health, and achieving and maintaining health are capacities that we possess from the first moment or life. To a great extent, then, becoming healthy involves learning to allow the abilities you posses from the start to work for you. You practice becoming the person you want to be.

2024 © John P Flynt, PhD | Your Horizon Counseling