Neuroscience and Relational Couple Therapy

This grant was awarded for the completion of a book, 'Loving with the Brain in Mind: Neurobiology & Couple Therapy', published in 2013 by Norton. The book explores how neurobiology can help us understand interpersonal dynamics and the ways in which couples become stuck in unproductive patterns. Couples get caught in repetitive cycles of emotional reactivity; the book discusses ways to step out of these cycles and develop strategies for emotion regulation. The tension between automatic habits and the possibility of choice and change are at the heart of the book. While we are creatures of habit who carry within us the legacy of evolution-including the fight/flight response when we feel threatened, we are also capable of living with prefrontal thoughtfulness. We are not doomed to be prisoners of our habits. Neuroplasticity-the ability of the brain to change-can continue into adulthood. Strategies are offered to enhance neuroplastcity and relational plasticity. Couples can choose to live according to their higher values, regulating their emotions and automatic reactivity, and co-creating a relationship of trust and intimacy.