The abuse inflicted on the brain from adverse experiences as discussed by Wheeler, (2020) disrupt and dysregulate the brain neural network on a cellular level.
Biological basis of psychotherapy
Traumatic events and adverse experiences as discussed by Wheeler, (2020) inflict insult on the brain resulting to disruption and dysregulation in the neural network that interferes with neurobiological genetic encoding, as well as structural changes in the brain. The author further associated these adverse experiences as causative factors of many mental health problems and psychiatric disorders, as support by various studies on mental health disorders (Wheeler, 2020).
With advance in neuroscience, Malhotra & Sahoo, (2017) expressed in their study that psychotherapy has been identified as a therapeutic intervention for mental disorders, as it leads to structural and functional changes in the brain. The authors also discovered in their study that using cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for phobia treatment can decrease activity in the limbic and paralimbic areas in the brain. For instance, the mechanism of action of CBT for phobia treatment is similar to the effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) when used as a treatment for phobia (Malhotra & Sahoo, 2017). The findings identified above are suggestive of biological basis of psychotherapy. I used the study done by Malhotra & Sahoo, (2017) because their study further explains and supports Wheeler’s notion of psychotherapy as a therapeutic intervention for mental disorders.