ABSTRACT
The authors, highlighting how neuroscience research has evolved from initial study of animals to the study of human brains, discuss relevant findings on adolescent brain maturation. These findings are discussed within the context of affective neuroscience with the aim of demonstrating how a neuroscientific approach can complement developmental and evolutionary perspectives to support psychotherapy with young people. The importance of play, the arts, and group therapy are all considered within the neuroscience perspective, highlighting the efficacy of creative arts therapies in the treatment of adolescents. They argue that arts-based groups offer interactive regulation, empathy through embodied simulation, bodily synchrony, and safe forms of mobilization. Finally, they consider preliminary studies that suggest how groups might override implicit bias, with implications for reducing racism.
