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Insights from Cognitive Neuroscience

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Cognitive Psychodynamics as an Integrative Framework in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy

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Abstract

This chapter commences with an overview of the human cognitive architecture. It is proposed that our experience is stored in the representational system, and that this past experience influences our current behaviour. These processes, however, often operate at an implicit rather than an explicit level. At any given moment, our conscious awareness is limited, and our attention is drawn to threats and novel stimuli. In terms of the biological basis of mood, we go on to discuss the role of the limbic system in relation to anxiety and depression and consider the amygdala and hippocampus as key structures. These interact with higher cortical systems in the prefrontal lobes and anterior cingulate cortex, which interpret our experience and control our responses. The implications for therapy are discussed. The role of early trauma in relation to establishing vulnerability and later susceptibility to psychological distress is acknowledged.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Spatial array or spatial field emphasizes that what is important is the spatial display at a given time, not the usual sensory modality underlying this display. (Blind people have a spatial array in their working memory.) Work plan emphasizes that the displayed content is subject to mental processing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Tony Ward

  2. Paris 8 University, St. Denis, France

    Arnaud Plagnol

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Ward, T., Plagnol, A. (2019). Insights from Cognitive Neuroscience. In: Cognitive Psychodynamics as an Integrative Framework in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25823-8_2

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