Neurological and Psychophysiological Therapies: Overview

Neurological and psychophysiological counseling theories have been described by some as the “last frontier” or “missing link” for the future development of the mental health professions. The emergence of these new theories is grounded [Page 714]in recent advances in neuroscience that prove that the brain can change and grow, which challenges the long-held notion that the human brain is unalterable. What has become clear in the past 10 years or so is that the mechanics of the brain drive mental processes and that actual change in brain activity and structure can be directly attributed to psychological and physical processes. Whereas neurological counseling focuses on linking psychological events and brain responses, such as the changes in the brain caused by the expression of empathy, psychophysiological counseling ...