How therapy changes the brain
There are so many possibilities to literally change your brain in therapy and coaching. Let's talk about them:
Therapeutic work can strengthen connections, also known as neural networks. Therapy can strengthen connections between neurons, which can improve communication and function. For example, different kinds of talk therapy or coaching can strengthen connections between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, which can help people better perceive social threats. You can also wire together new habits such as journaling, creating a new strategy for an anxious emotion, or creating a new mindset that gives you a feeling of confidence rather than fear when speaking in front of groups.
Working with a therapist or coach on some deep-level programming can also change gene expression: This can alter the strength of synaptic connections. More specifically, you can tell your unconscious mind to up-regulate the more "healthy" genes you have in your genetic code as you become more congruent with yourself. The more you believe you are flexible, healthy, creative, consistent, and conscious, the more your body's own DNA will begin to reflect that.
Being vulnerable with the process and looking at how you do (or avoid) things in your life can change neurochemicals in your brain. With intentional and deep work into your habits, thoughts, and emotions, you have the opportunity to change the levels of neurochemicals like serotonin which create a feeling of confidence and happiness or fulfillment in life.
If you commit to working with your traumas and learn how to resource yourself in difficult situations, you can even increase the volume of your hippocampus. The hippocampus, which is involved in memory and learning, can grow, giving you more access to new information and quicker recall, as you develop new skills in therapy and beyond.
When you work with a mental health professional, you can also change the frontal and temporal cortex, two areas of your brain that regulate emotion, thinking, and memory. When you build these skills, these brain areas can create new neural pathways that make it easy and instinctive to choose healthy, fulfilling, and confident choices in your life.
Choosing therapy and/or coaching can also work at reintegrating neural systems. Therapeutic work can reintegrate neural systems involved in stress, making you more resilient to stressful situations. You can also handle different kinds of stress and be able to work through anxious, depressive, or traumatic situations with more ease and keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed in intense circumstances.
Lastly, talk therapy and alternative wellness can also help people learn about themselves and develop skills that can help them face new challenges. You can work through past trauma, change your mind, body, emotions, and spirit, and create a life you really love and find fulfilling.
What have you been able to accomplish in a therapeutic space and what do you most want to be able to do in the future?
