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Does Psychotherapy Have a Biological Basis?
Complex and powerful, the human mind functions in a way beyond what is personallydecipherable. It controls how people move, think, feel, behave, and even perceive themselves
as individuals. Along with the discovery of various mental disorders, science has also been
receptive to exploring interventions that could address these functions.
Today, the world of pharmacology has been introducing new drugs that would serveas treatments to manage mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anddepression. Though these medications have proven their respective efficacy in the modernworld, this was not the case in the past during the time of Freud. Mental disturbances used tobe addressed through a simple technique known as psychotherapy.
Overview of Psychotherapy
An old-fashioned counterpart of psychiatric drugs, psychotherapy was conducted tocontrol troubling symptoms to enable the person to function again optimally and perform
activities of daily living efficiently. Some of the issues addressed are difficulties in copingwith life’s hardships, impact of trauma, medical illness, loss or death of a loved one, andother specific mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2016). Further,
psychotherapies may be complemented with medications or other therapies that may bedeemed effective for the further improvement of the patient’s outcome.
The Biological Basis
Studies show that the majority of the people receiving psychotherapy haveexperienced positive effects such as symptoms relief, fewer medical concerns, improved
functionality, and an optimistic outlook in life. These findings could be further supported by
the use of brain imaging techniques such as PET/CT scans that could vividly detect changes
in the biochemical or anatomical features of the brain (American Psychological Association,n.d.). Various researches have shown that people diagnosed with mental illnesses who
received psychotherapy have shown positive changes in their brains. Surprisingly, these
remarkable changes were also found to be similar with those who took psychiatricYourLastName 2medications. In addition, recent research revealed that certain neurochemicals such as
oxytocin, arginine, vasopressin, and the mu-opioid play crucial roles in the regulation andcontrol of the three pillars of psychotherapy: attachment, empathy, and fear extinction(Welton & Kay, 2015).
Neurotransmitters, biochemicals, and other genetic variations are constantly exploredin order to put light on the mystery of the biological effectiveness of psychotherapy.
Nonetheless, management of mental illnesses or problems is done on a case-by-case basis.
Psychiatrists should also take into consideration the patients’ preferences, and mostimportantly, their safety.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2016, July). What is psychotherapy? Retrieved fromhttps://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/psychotherapy
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Understanding psychotherapy and how it works.
Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/understanding-psychotherapy.aspx
Welton, R., & Kay, J. (2015, October 22). The Neurobiology of psychotherapy. PsychiatricTimes. Retrieved fromhttp://www.psychiatrictimes.com/neuropsychiatry/neurobiology-psychotherapy