ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the framework of interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB), a scientifically-grounded theory developed by Allan Schore and Daniel Siegel, to illuminate how relationships shape the brain throughout the lifespan, and explores how aspects of IPNB can support the group therapy process. It suggests that the therapist’s holding capacity and the group members’ mindful awareness of their own inner worlds, as well as their empathic awareness of one another, can be increased by understanding and practicing some core principles about brain and mind. The book highlights aspects of IPNB that can be useful to the group therapist and to group members in moving toward the goal of integrating the experience of IPNB into group practice. A group psychotherapist’s knowledge of IPNB can help frame the process of change as this triangle is envisioned to represent how integration—the linkage of differentiated parts into a coherent and adaptive whole—promotes health. Impediments to integration lead to states of chaos, rigidity, or both.
