Neuroscience for Counsellors : Practical Applications for Counsellors, Therapists and Mental Health Practitioners

This is an invaluable resource for counsellors and therapists looking to reinvigorate their practice and enhance their understanding of clients' needs. Each chapter focuses on different discoveries in neuroscience, explains them in plain English and provides guidance on how to put this knowledge to practical use in the therapy room. It covers specific psychological and neurological diagnoses including bipolar affective disorder, eating disorders and ADHD, as well as other more general issues such as attachment and addiction. The book also contains recommendations backed by evidence from neuroscience for optimum mental health involving nutrition, sleep and exercise, and a comprehensive glossary of technical terms. Presenting the practical applications of neuroscience, this book will be of immeasurable use to counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists, and also of interest to social workers and mental health practitioners. Neuroscience for Counsellors: Practical Applications for Counsellors, Therapists and Mental Health Practitioners......Page 5 About this book......Page 13 Personal factors......Page 15 A field in its infancy......Page 17 Integration of complexity......Page 18 Where does counselling fit in?......Page 19 Making a difference......Page 21 The challenge of new knowledge......Page 22 A cultural note......Page 24 Interconnection......Page 25 Plasticity and BDNF......Page 26 Neurons that fire together wire together......Page 30 Plasticity/rigidity paradox......Page 33 Damage to the brain......Page 35 Gene transciption......Page 37 Myelination and white matter......Page 42 Left brain/right brain......Page 44 Learning and attention......Page 47 A map of ourselves......Page 55 Memory......Page 59 False memory......Page 70 Memory and self......Page 76 Mirror neurons......Page 82 Emotion......Page 95 Attachment......Page 99 Addiction......Page 106 Stress......Page 114 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder......Page 119 Dissociation......Page 126 Depression......Page 132 Bipolar Affective Disorder......Page 142 Anxiety......Page 147 Attention Deficit (Hyperactive) Disorders......Page 155 Autisic spectrum disorders, including Aspergers......Page 164 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Tourette’s syndrome......Page 175 Personality disorders......Page 179 Psychosis/schizophrenia......Page 187 Eating disorders......Page 196 Exercise......Page 205 Sleep......Page 210 Omega 3......Page 215 Deep breathing, meditative practice and mindfulness......Page 217 Healthy eating......Page 221 Scope......Page 226 A new era for psychiatry?......Page 227 A new era for counselling......Page 228 Future directions......Page 229 Sharing knowledge......Page 230 So what about my project?......Page 231 Everything affects everything......Page 233 Afterword......Page 235 Glossary......Page 246 References......Page 266 Subject Index......Page 278 Author Index......Page 287 Blank Page......Page 2 This book explains neuroscience discoveries in accessible, plain English and provides guidance on how to apply this knowledge to counselling practice in order to enhance understanding of clients' needs. How addiction, ADHD and other issues effect the brain, and how to accommodate these changes in the therapy room