For many years psychotherapy and neuroscience have been estranged; existing on opposite ends of the spectrum concerned with the investigation of the mind. However in recent years, these two opposing schools of thought have found their paths converging so that now a mutually rewarding relationship is taking its first faltering steps towards greater

For many years psychotherapy and neuroscience have been estranged, existing on opposite ends of the spectrum concerned with the investigation of the mind. However, in recent years, these two opposing schools of thought have found their paths converging so that now a mutually rewarding relationship is taking its first steps towards greater co-operation and understanding. The UKCP conference was one such step. Leading experts in affective neuroscience and psychotherapy attended and gave lectures that integrated material and theories from a number of fields on diverse subjects such as infant development and the relationship between emotion and consciousness. These talks highlighted the benefit of greater contact between these fields, with practical examples as well as theoretical. This innovative collection is one of the first to emphasise and demonstrate the value of greater unity and is an essential introduction for all to this burgeoning area of research.

The body can inform the work we do in mental health. This unique collection invites the reader to consider the way we think about the embodied mind, and how it can inform both our lives and our work in psychotherapy and counseling.
The body is viewed as integral to the mind in this book and in the approaches illustrated in it. Instead of splitting off the body and treating the patient as a body with a mind, contributors from a variety of approaches ask the reader to consider how we might be with, and work with, "bodymind" as an interrelated whole. Subjects covered include:
- The application of affective neuroscience understandings to life as well as to clinical issues
- The body in psychotherapy with a person who is facing death
- The history, significance and scope of body psychotherapy today
- Psychoanalytic approaches to working with the embodied mind
- Authentic Movement groups in the development of wellbeing in our bodymindspirit
- The body and spirituality
This book is unique in its pluralism: it includes a wide range of differing views of the importance of the body in psychotherapy, both in theory and in practice, and it relates these to the latest discussions in affective neuroscience. It will be invaluable for those working in, or studying, psychotherapy and counseling, and will also interest those working generally in the mental health field.