Does psychotherapy have a biological basis? In a word, yes. Psychotherapy has a solid basis in biological processes. Changes in thought processes can be linked to changes in the structure or function of neural activity (Stahl, 2013).

Does psychotherapy have a biological basis?In a word, yes.  Psychotherapy has a solid basis in biological processes.  Changes in thought processes can be linked to changes in the structure or function of neural activity (Stahl, 2013).  Numerous imaging and functional scanning studies demonstrate that psychotherapy changes how the brain functions, and these changes can be demonstrated on a biological level.  A few of these studies are highlighted here to illustrate the point. A systematic review by Zantvoord, Diehle, & Lindauer (2013) identified 16 studies that examined brain imaging with PTSD patients receiving trauma-processing therapies including TF-CBT and EMDR. The studies reviewed showed various biological factors at play including increased activity in the mid-prefrontal cortex and decreased activity in the amygdala following TF-CBT (Zantvoord, Diehle, & Lindauer, 2013). Furthermore, Lindauer et al. (2008) showed that following TF-CBT, the neural circuitry of working memory in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showed decreased activity.  Disturbances in this brain region appears to play a part in the development and maintenance of PTSD (Lindauer et al, 2008).div style #button { background-color: #F05A1A; border: 5px; border-radius: 5px; color: white; padding: 5px 5px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; font-size: 13px; margin: 4px 2px; cursor: pointer; } /style div class=’alert alert-success’ h3Save your time – order a paper!/h3 p >