By decoding the scientific data, this book explains how recent findings
from brain and infant research can expand a clinician's understanding of
the therapist-client relationship and, in turn, improve how therapy is
done. Offering clinical insights into key developmental mechanisms,
Judith Rustin highlights the possibilities for new and creative
treatment protocols. She summarizes and synthesizes basic concepts and
ideas derived from infant research and neuroscience for clinicians not
familiar with the literature. Using examples from her own practice to
show how a clinician might integrate these concepts into psychodynamic
practice, she invites other clinicians to experiment with finding their
own pathways to integration of this valuable material in the clinical
endeavor. Rustin explains how self- and mutual regulation (or
bidirectional interaction)--concepts of which are both firmly grounded
in the dyadic systems model of interaction--develop in infancy, how they
contribute to a growing sense of self, and how they ultimately serve as
templates for future interactions with others. She explains and shows
how an understanding of them enriches a two-person perspective in
clinical work. She then focuses on the brain science behind four
additional concepts, each of which has particular application to
clinical work: memory, the mind-body connection, the fear system, and
mirror neurons and the concept of shared circuitry. Clinical material is
interwoven with explications of each concept.
