http://www.springerlink.com/content/p481n2tv623763g3/
Abstract
Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain
and nervous system to reorganize its neural pathways, connections, and
functions.
It occurs rapidly during brain development, from conception
through the first few years of life. But neuroplasticity manifests
in another way that is important for psychotherapy, when it
occurs in response to experience. Experience-based neuroplasticity
can happen all through life and in varied circumstances. It
can be positive and expanding or negative and constricting. Negative
neuroplasticity is associated with stress found in many
psychological disorders including PTSD, major depression, and borderline
personality disorder. Positive neuroplasticity can be
stimulated by certain kinds of experiences. Growth is often correlated
with improved functioning, just as shrinking is associated
with declines, and so whenever therapists can stimulate new growth,
they are more likely to help clients improve their
functioning. The discovery that the brain has this ability to change
from
experience presents a great hope for the therapist’s ability
to stimulate change, not just in thoughts and feelings, but also
in the very structure and function of the brain. People can
make their lives, and their brains better by what they do, and
they can do so at any age. Chapter 13 gives the details of
how neuroplasticity has been studied at the microscopic level,
how the discoveries of plasticity developed over the
centuries, and the ways that experience tends to bring neuroplasticity
about through enrichment, remapping, and novelty.
Therapeutic methods can facilitate these processes. This chapter shows
how
therapists can expand expectations to include novel methods
to foster helpful brain changes in clients.
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