Neuroscience-Based Psychotherapy: A Position Paper

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based on material published in Frontiers in Psychology and is available as an open-access article. In recent years, discoveries in neuroscience have greatly impacted the need to modify therapeutic practice, starting from the evidence showing some cerebral mechanisms capable of coping with mental health crisis and traumatic events of the individuals life history by redesigning the narrative plot and the persons sense of the Self. The emerging dialogue between neuroscience and psychotherapy is increasingly intense, and modern psychotherapy cannot ignore the heritage deriving from studies about neuropsychological modification of memory traces, neurobiology of attachment theory, cognitive mechanisms involved in psychopathology, neurophysiology of human empathy, neuroimaging evidence about psychotherapeutic treatment, and somatoform disorders connecting the brain and the body. In the present article, we critically examined sectorial literature and claimed that psychotherapy has to refer to a neuroscience-based approach in order to adopt the most tailored interventions for specific groups of patients or therapy settings. We also provided recommendations for care implementation in clinical practice and illustrated the challenges of future research. This course on the use of neuroscience-based psychotherapy as a treatment for psychiatric disorders is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced-level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of the use of neuroscience-based psychotherapy as a treatment for psychiatric disorders. The course material includes a literature review of theory. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading, and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Cammisuli, Castelnuovo Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding the use of neuroscience-based psychotherapy as a treatment for psychiatric disorders. Specifically, a professional will: Recognize the role of psychotherapy in the context of traumatic memories and psychiatric disorders. Describe the role of mirror neurons in neurocognition. Identify the benefits of neuroimaging in identifying and treating psychiatric disorders. Citation: Cammisuli, D. M., & Castelnuovo, G. (2023). Neuroscience-based psychotherapy: A position paper. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1101044. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1101044