ABSTRACT
Allan Schore stands out as a major contributor to our knowledge of developmental and affective neuroscience and, as we have seen, has made key contributions to an integrative perspective on both human development and psychotherapeutic responses to the serious implications of dysregulatory experience in early life (Schore, 2003a, 2003c). Drawing on extensive research, Schore has highlighted the extent to which early developmental relational experiences that involve abuse, trauma, maltreatment or neglect predispose to serious problems in later life. He draws on literature that brings starkly to our attention the implications of these early experiences (e.g. Karr-Morse and Wiley, 1997) involving very young children committing acts of extreme violence. Shore highlights the effects of extreme arousal of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) with a particular focus on the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). We have reviewed earlier the effects of exceeding a window of tolerance in relation to over-or under-stimulation of the ANS. What Shore outlines is the distinction between the `¯ight' and `®ght' responses in terms of dysregulation. It is the `®ght' response which, if consistently unregulated, can lead to later dif®culties in the control of aggression predisposing to disorders of the antisocial or borderline kind. Clearly the issues go further than an ANS response, being environmentally and socially based. In the frame are also the intergenerational patterns that are playing themselves out in those settings. While Schore argues for the importance of early intervention that can arrest developing trajectories, work with adults is also important. Bateman and Fonagy (2006), for example, outline the challenges as well as the possibilities of working with adults with a history of severe disorganized attachment and dysregulatory experiences leading to a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. They point out
the with the therapist.
