The Substrate of Transformation in Psychotherapy and Analysis

Abstract

The author reviews Margaret Wilkinson’s latest book, Changing Minds in Therapy: Emotion, Attachment, Trauma & Neurobiology. Wilkinson skillfully incorporates a wealth of knowledge and recent neuroscience research with useful and thought-provoking applications for clinical practice. She highlights the central importance of the brain’s right hemisphere for emotional processes, implicit memory, and relationships. Her ‘double helix’ model of treatment suggests that psychotherapists pay equal attention to affective experiences as well as interpretations. The author provides a brief example from his practice to illustrate Wilkinson's key ideas about the reach of dissociation, the power of imagery, the need for emotional expression, and the creation of a life-bridging narrative in psychotherapy. This book is highly recommended as a valuable tool for anyone in the helping professions.

Key Words:

• brain research
• dissociation
• left hemisphere
• neurobiology
• neuroscience
• neural plasticity
• psychotherapy
• right hemisphere
• Margaret Wilkinson