The Neuroscience Behind Therapy
Published November 14th, 2024
4 min read
Talking to a mental health professional can change the way the brain works for the better.
Written by Simon Spichak
Why does talking about your problems improve your mental health? Talk therapy, also called psychotherapy, is a science-based approach used for decades to treat many different mental health conditions. Neuroscientists and psychologists are starting to understand how therapy changes the brain.
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a mental health approach designed to help people change behaviors, beliefs, or feelings. It can also help people regulate emotions and improve their organizational skills and executive function.
There are many different kinds of therapy developed to address specific needs, including:
The neuroscience of psychotherapy
Scientists are still figuring out exactly how therapy affects the brain, but one thing they are sure of is that the right kind of therapy does work.
Making the brain less reactive to negative emotions
The brains of people with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions respond differently to negative emotional information.
The parts of the brain that handle this kind of information, which include the limbic system and prefrontal cortex, can overreact. A small problem, receiving critical feedback from your boss at work, can feel like the end of the world.
Psychotherapy may desensitize these brain areas to negative information — you’ll still worry, but it won’t cause your heart rate to spike or lead to catastrophizing.
For people with post-traumatic stress disorder or phobias, an almond-shaped region of the brain called the amygdala is hyperactive, triggering intense recall of fear and trauma. Therapies like ERP are associated with a reduction in amygdala activation, which coincides with a decrease in symptoms.
Breathing and relaxation techniques help the brain regulate itself
The brain sends signals to the body, but the body can also send signals back to the brain.
Mental health professionals help you practice breathing and relaxation techniques that activate the parasympathetic nervous system. These nerves counteract the body’s “fight or flight” response, tell the brain to relax, and lower levels of stress hormones.
It helps put you in a state of mind where you aren’t overwhelmed and can think more clearly. That makes it easier to regulate emotions like anger or despair and focus.
Correcting the brain’s predictions
Across many different mental health conditions, the brain is making prediction errors.
It means that you’re constantly expecting the worst-case scenario — stressing over inconsequential social interactions, feeling a sense of impending doom, or continually checking and rechecking that you turned off the oven because you worry about what will happen if you forget.
Many forms of therapy may help the brain rewire itself to correct these prediction errors.
How long does therapy take to change the brain?
Therapy is highly individualized. The time it takes for a course of therapy to change the brain will depend on the symptoms being treated and the type of therapy used.
CBT takes anywhere between 12 to 20 50-minute sessions to treat anxiety, depression, and ADHD. For most mental health conditions, a course of DBT may take six months to a year before you start feeling better.
If you do not see much improvement, speak with your therapist about changing the treatment or consider finding a new therapist.
What kinds of mental health professionals can provide therapy?
Four types of mental health professionals are trained to provide psychotherapy in Canada:
Psychotherapists, RP or RP(Q): These are mental health professionals trained to provide psychotherapy. They can’t diagnose mental health conditions or prescribe any medications.
Social workers, RSW, or MSW: Social workers are also trained to provide psychotherapy, and their education emphasizes the social determinants of health. However, they can’t diagnose mental health conditions or prescribe medications.
Psychologists: Psychologists study how we feel, think, and behave, then use science-based methods to help people understand and change their behaviors. Many psychologists also split their time between the clinic and research at a university or hospital. They are more expensive than other professionals. They can provide a diagnosis but cannot prescribe medications.
Psychiatrists: Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in understanding the brain and mental health conditions. They are trained to provide therapy and can also diagnose and prescribe medications. But there is a long waitlist to see a psychiatrist.
How Resolvve can help
Resolvve’s therapists help you meet your mental health goals. Whether that means easing the symptoms of ADHD or OCD, helping you through a major life transition, or improving your relationship skills, we’re here for you.
If you’re ready to take the next step with therapy, you can book a free consultation.
Please note that this post is written for educational purposes; it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional, please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.
