Loving with the Brain in Mind: Neurobiology and Couple Therapy

by Mona Dekoven Fishbane, Daniel J. Siegel (Foreword)

Facilitating change in couple therapy by understanding how the brain works to maintain—and break—old habits.

Human brains and behavior are shaped by genetic predispositions and early experience. But we are not doomed by our genes or our past. Neuroscientific discoveries of the last decade have provided an optimistic and revolutionary view of adult brain People can change. This revelation about neuroplasticity offers hope to therapists and to couples seeking to improve their relationship. Loving With the Brain in Mind explores ways to help couples become proactive in revitalizing their relationship. It offers an in-depth understanding of the heartbreaking dynamics in unhappy couples and the healthy dynamics of couples who are flourishing.Sharing her extensive clinical experience and an integrative perspective informed by neuroscience and relationship science, Mona Fishbane gives us insight into the neurobiology underlying couples’ dances of reactivity. Readers will learn how partners become reactive and emotionally dysregulated with each other, and what is going on in their brains when they do. Clear and compelling discussions are included of the neurobiology of empathy and how empathy and selfregulation can be learned. Understanding neurobiology, explains Fishbane, can transform your clinical practice with couples and help you hone effective therapeutic interventions.

This book aims to empower therapists— and the couples they treat—as they work to change interpersonal dynamics that drive them apart. Understanding how the brain works can inform the therapist’s theory of relationships, development, and change. And therapists can offer clients “neuroeducation” about their own reactivity and relationship distress and their potential for personal and relational growth. A gifted clinician and a particularly talented neuroscience writer, Dr. Fishbane presents complex material in an understandable and engaging manner. By anchoring her work in clinical cases, she never loses sight of the people behind the science.

Genres: Psychology, Relationships, Counselling, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Self Help, Grad School

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2013

Reviews

[Rachel Croce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great clinical resource! It’s a combination of some of the most evidence-based modalities for couples with a trauma-informed perspective in a way that is easy to understand and apply. I loved the last section, focusing on family systems and generational patterns that result in wounds and places of developmental freeze. Lots of sections have been appreciated by clients of mine as helpful resources. Thank you DeKoven Fishbane and my colleague who recommended it 🙏🏻

[Raoul W · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much interesting material to digest and learn how to apply. Great frameworks and tools for working on any kind of relationship.

[Teddy Goetz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t keep reading past an extremely gender-essentialist section that is not supported by the most current research.

[suzbug3 suzbug3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful addition to the field of couples therapy. It provides a synthesis between some traditional family of origin work and the latest in neuroscience information and our growing understanding of the impact of sensory and non pre-frontal cortex processes and their impact on emotions and attachment dynamics.