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Love & Psychotherapy (2/5): Attachment and Neuroscience

Love is fundamental to human lives, cropping up repeatedly in client narratives and consulting room dynamics. But how much do we understand about it? Dr Divine Charura, editor of Love and Therapy, continues his five-part series on the role of love in life and psychotherapy with a look at attachment research, mirror neurons and the contributions of Polyvgal Theory.

 

In my last blog, I outlined eight different kinds of love and encouraged readers to reflect on the place of love in therapy. In this blog, I want to share some reflections on attachment, and the role of love in our neurological makeup and wellbeing. Knowing a little about this can enable therapists to understand so much more about some clients’ presentations, including their responses to trauma, non-medically unexplained symptoms such as chronic pain, and difficulties in emotional regulation or sexual functioning. It can also help us value the reparative, neurological impact of therapy.

The importance of love and attachments within primary relationships, and their impact on children’s mental and physical wellbeing, is well documented (Gerhardt, 2004). Attachment patterns formed in childhood influence how individuals respond when faced with trauma or challenges later in life. Those with secure attachment styles often fare better in the face of psychologically distressing circumstances.

Recent neuroscientific research findings confirm Bowlby and Ainsworth’s attachment theories, as well as the importance of love and relationship throughout life. It has been demonstrated that lack of love and a nurturing relationship in childhood affects the development of neurological pathways in the brain. Such studies have shown, in the worst cases, that children have died as a result of lack of love and nurturing relationships.

Mirror neurons and empathy

There is now neuroscientific evidence for the importance of empathy. Empathic relationship building involves activation of mirror neurons. These neurons have important implications: when clients talk about their experiences, similar neurological changes occur in the therapist’s brain. These neurological changes are activated through the therapist observing, listening and empathically responding to the client’s experiences.

The same process happens for the client as they listen and observe the therapist’s responses and reactions to their material. The psychological and neurological processes operating in the therapist, which are communicated through empathic understanding of the client’s problem/experience, trigger and activate new mirror neurons within the client.

Neuroscience and reparative relationships

Polyvagal Theory explains how social behaviour and loving relationships can aid our capacity as humans to switch off defences and promote opportunities to feel safe.  Consistent with a Polyvagal perspective, the neurochemicals of oxytocin and vasopressin dynamically moderate the autonomic nervous system, influencing vagal pathways and anti-inflammatory circuits. This can help explain the adaptive consequences of love, trust, and social behaviour for emotional and physical health.

So love, and relationships that offer capacity for good attachment, have a positive impact on wellbeing and change in the following ways:

  1. The brain can change. Neuroplasticity means that the brain can create new neural pathways under the right conditions. The effects of the past are not irrevocably fixed.
  2. Therapy can lead to the building of new neurons. Effective therapy will help, as will positive life experiences and physical exercise.
  3. Love can lead to an individual experiencing being empowered by the integration of all parts of the
  4. Love impacts neurochemistry: both the higher brain structures that enable humans to be creative and generative and the lower brain structures involved in regulating health, growth, and restoration.
  5. Positive emotional experiences have a similar effect on the brain. Focussing on positive thoughts and feelings overcomes negativity.

Attachment and neuroscience theories help us understand the reparative nature of love – which we will be looking at more closely next week when we focus on the therapeutic relationship.

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Divine Charura

Dr Divine Charura is a Chartered Psychologist, and Counselling Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. He is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in England. He is also registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy as an Adult Psychotherapist. He has worked and presented key note lectures at numerous international conferences including in USA, South East Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Divine’s psychotherapeutic interests are in exploring the therapeutic relationship when working with complex psychological distress and trauma, as well as the place of love and attachment in human relationships and on mental wellbeing. Divine has co-authored and edited numerous books in counselling and psychotherapy. His two latest co-edited books are Love and Therapy: In relationship and The Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy Handbook: Origins, Developments and Current Applications. Divine is a lover of photography, art, music and outdoor pursuits.

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