Whether they realize it or not, all effective therapists promote lasting change in their client’s lives by relying on a quality of the brain known as neural plasticity. Thanks to the brain’s malleability, therapists can assist their clients in integrating their right and left brain hemispheres, their limbic systems, and their bodies (Fishbane, 2007), a process that allows one to achieve emotional regulation (McFadden, 2016). However, this work requires a strong therapeutic alliance between the client and clinician (Sprenkle, Davis, & Lebow, 2009), since the therapeutic alliance provides the human connection necessary to alter “the emotional brain” (Fishbane 2007). Therefore, it is clear that social workers must have knowledge of basic neuroscience, understand the concept of emotional regulation, and possess the skills necessary to form a therapeutic alliance with all of their clients.
Therapeutic Alliance. In order for therapy to be effective, it is important to begin establishing a therapeutic alliance from the first session (Sprenkle et al., 2009). This alliance is made up
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Specifically, integration between the prefrontal cortex, limbic system, and body needs to occur, so that the prefrontal cortex can be activated more easily (Miehls & Applegate, 2014). This re-wiring can be accomplished due to to the brain’s quality of neural plasticity (Miehls & Applegate, 2014). It is because of the brain’s ability to create new neural connections that therapy can lead to change in clients (McFadden, 2016). Change occurs when individuals have new experiences, which create new neural connections. If these connections are strengthened, through their frequent activation, then the brain will rewire and the person will have the ability to activate that particular neural circuit more easily in the