ABSTRACT
Changing means experiencing new states in the body and mind. Simply reflecting on one’s mental processes in an attempt to acquire new, more functional points of view is often not enough to break up maladaptive thought and relationship patterns reinforced by lifelong use and by now entrenched. Short-term memory is also partly based on sensory-motor processes. For example, recalling words without sense is more difficult if the muscles that should articulate these same words get blocked. Moreover, when recalling words, the brain areas dedicated to the perception and production of speech get activated. Working memory offloads part of its information in the perceptual and motor control systems. The impact of imagery on behaviour is not restricted to simple actions. Simulating episodes of future social interactions activates the same networks as amnesic recalling of episodes. Basing psychotherapy on the bottom-up component, from sensoriality to cognition and metacognition, has for these reasons a scientific basis.
