Importantly, in order to co-create this intersubjective system with the patient, the therapist must implicitly synchronize their right hemispheres. As I will soon discuss, this right-lateralized interbrain synchronization of a spontaneous nonverbal communication is an essential mechanism of mutual regressions (see Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1, in which the right temporoparietal cortex in one partner is synchronized with the right temporoparietal cortex of the other). The right temporoparietal junction is known to be activated in social interactions and self-functions (Decety & Lamm, 2007) and is centrally involved in states of attention processing, perceptual awareness, face and voice processing, and empathy (Schore, 2003a, 2003b, 2012). It also allows for “making sense of another mind” (Saxe & Wexler, 2005).
With this introduction in mind, in this and the next chapter I will present an interpersonal neurobiological model of the growth-promoting role of mutual regressions in long-term psychotherapy, not only in the patient’s but also in the clinician’s own deeper psychotherapeutic explorations.
Schore, Allan N.. Right Brain Psychotherapy (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) (pp. 51-52). W. W. Norton & Company. 2019, Kindle edition.
