A Neuroscience Perspective for Working With Children and Adolescents
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NEUROEDUCATION : THREE STEPS TO MAKE CONVEYING NEUROSCIENCE-BASED INFORMATION TO CLIENTS EASIER
As CMHCs , we often find ourselves educating our clients about “ what ” is happening to them and “ why ” it is happening . This educational process is often called psychoeducation . While neuroeducation is similar to psychoeducation , it is more technical in nature . Further , some CMHCs might view neuroeducation as a bit more intimidating . Therefore , we recommend a threestep process to enhance CMHCs ’ confidence and to reduce the potential of overwhelming or invalidating children , adolescents , and caregivers when we deliver technical information .
Step 1 : Explore and validate
Children and adolescents may find neuroscience information interesting for multiple reasons . Exploring what the client ’ s motivation is for receiving neuroeducation is an important initial step .
Time must be taken to investigate the nature of the client ’ s questions and broaden discussions around what they are currently experiencing . For example , a client may want to know : “ What happens in my brain when I get so angry that I can ’ t control myself ?” There could be two reasons for asking this question : a ) curiosity about how the brain works , or b ) frustration that they are struggling to adjust their behavior .
A child ’ s understanding of ongoing neurological development and the imbalance theory of brain development may help to instill hope that their ability to regulate will improve with time and practice . Note , however , that this information could also be defeating if delivered improperly . For example , we do not want children thinking that there is no point in trying to regulate their emotions now , because such regulation will not occur until years have passed . Attempting to describe technical information about what is happening with myelination , the imbalance theory , the autonomic nervous system and central nervous system , or epigenetics can be daunting initially for the counselor , but like many new things , it will improve with practice .
Step 2 : Assess
Neuroscience-Related Training and Resources
An AMHCA certification in neuroscience education is not yet available . AMHCA ’ s Neuroscience Taskforce has developed training modules and plans to propose a certification process to AMHCA in the coming months .
Clinical Mental Health Counselors who are interested in becoming more knowledgeable about neuroscience-related counseling might be interested in the following resources :
• T . A . Field , et al ., Journal of Clinical Mental Health Counseling , 2022 , Volume 44 , Number 3 , July 2022 : “ A Training Model for the Development of Neuroscience- Informed Counseling Competencies ”: amhcajournal . org
• B . J . Casey ’ s imbalance theory : www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC2500212 /
Also , AMHCA has an online Neuroscience Interest Network that is open to all AMHCA members . Its mission is to promote and support clinical mental health counselors in integrating neuroscience into counseling practice . For more information or to join AMHCA ’ s Neuroscience Interest Network , visit bit . ly / 3Br6r8R .
Assessing what the client or caregiver already knows about how the brain works is the next step in the process of delivering neuroscience information . Caregivers and older adolescents have likely heard some basic information about how the brain works , and it may well be a mix of factual and anecdotal information . CMHCs can ask the client or caregiver brief questions ( no formal testing ) to determine the client ’ s interest , level of understanding , and ability to filter complex concepts .
For instance , is the child , adolescent , or caregiver familiar with different parts of the brain and different brain structures ( e . g ., the hippocampus , the amygdala , the two hemispheres )? The response to this question would provide CMHCs with information that could guide what type of information they share with the client .
If the client already has some basic knowledge of neuroscience , the counselor could begin sharing ( slightly ) more advanced neuroeducational concepts . If the client knows little about this aspect of the brain ’ s functioning , and / or the client has little interest in it , then the counselor might focus on a lesstechnical approach , such as teaching the client about stress and engaging in lifestyle changes .
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18 The Advocate Magazine 2022 , Issue # 2 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) www . amhca . org