Interpersonal Neurobiology of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process

Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, LMFT, is a marriage and family therapist, supervisor, teacher, and author who is integrating the discoveries of relational neuroscience into the art of therapy. She co-founded the nonprofit agency, Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind in Portland, Oregon. As a mentor/supervisor of marriage and family therapist interns, she supports their developing mental health while helping them internalize the principles of interpersonal neurobiology. Bonnie currently teaches at Portland State University, and speaks internationally about applying IPNB principles both personally and professionally. She is the author of 'Being a Brain-Wise Therapist' (2008) and 'The Brain-Savvy Therapist's Workbook' (2011). Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D., ABPP, CGP, is a psychologist and Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine where she coordinates group psychotherapy training. She is the Director of the Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute and co-author of the books 'Autobiography of a Theory' and 'SCT in Action' with Yvonne Agazarian. She was recently awarded the Alonso Award for Excellence in Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy by the Group Psychotherapy Foundation for her work with Paul Cox on the special issue of the 'International Journal of Group Psychotherapy' on 'Neurobiology and Interpersonal Systems: Groups, Couples and Beyond.'

• New International Library of Group Analysis Foreword , Introduction , Integrating interpersonal neurobiology with group psychotherapy , Mirror neurons: their implications for group psychotherapy , Group psychotherapy and neuro-plasticity: an attachment theory perspective , Developing the group mind through functional subgrouping: linking systems-centred training (SCT) and interpersonal neurobiology , Introducing couples to group therapy: pursuing passion through the neo-cortex , Sensorimotor psychotherapy as a foundation of group therapy with younger clients , Hunger and longing: a developmental regulation model for exploring core relational needs , Relationship-focused group therapy (RFGT) to mitigate marital instability and neuropsychophysiological dysregulation , A transformational learning group: inviting the implicit

'This groundbreaking volume offers a number of creative contributions that integrate extensive group psychotherapy experience with cutting edge neuroscience. Writing on work with children, adults, and couples, all authors utilize the interdisciplinary perspective of interpersonal neurobiology to model the conscious and unconscious psychoneurobiological mechanisms that underlie the explicit and especially implicit change mechanisms embedded in group psychotherapy. This book will be of great value to our understanding of how effective emotionally-focused group work can act as a growth-facilitating environment for optimizing brain circuits in the 'social' 'emotional' right brain, the biological substrate of the human unconscious mind. It also serves as a theoretical source for the development of evidence-based, yet clinically sound group psychotherapy models.'- Allan N. Schore, author of The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy and Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self'This clearly and beautifully written collection of peer reviews and previously published articles concerning the interpersonal neurobiology of group psychotherapy and group process is essential reading. Interpersonal neurobiology is a source of a fuller understanding of people in groups, groups in people, and especially of the web of affiliations that structure communicational networks and the information carried through them. This is necessary for the development of our theory and clinical practice. Interpersonal neurobiology underpins the deeper study of the social unconscious, including the development of the social brain and its effects on people in relationships and vice versa.' - Earl Hopper, Ph.D. psychoanalyst and group analyst, Editor of the New International Library of Group Analysis