ABSTRACT
We want to thank Dennis Miehls and Jeffrey Applegate for inviting us to contribute to this important edition of the Smith College Studies in Clinical Social Work. It is a privilege to be a part of this distinguished group of clinicians who have incorporated neurobiology in their theory and practice. As one of us (J. Schore, 2012) has recently written in this journal, interpersonal neurobiological models mesh nicely with the biopsychosocial-cultural perspective of clinical social work, perhaps more than any other area of the social work profession. Psychodynamic social workers are now actively
This article offers an essay on the influence of advances in developmental neuroscience and neuropsychoanalysis for our understanding of the interpersonal neurobiological change mechanisms embedded in the mother-infant and client-therapist relationship. Regulation theory and affect regulation therapy are reviewed, along with attachment, affect regulation, and the development of the right brain. Right-brain communications within the therapeutic alliance are described, leading to the conclusion that the right brain is dominant in psychotherapy. Changes in not only the client’s but also the clinician’s brain over long-term clinical experiences are discussed.
