Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology: An Integrative Handbook of the Mind

by Daniel J. Siegel M.D.

Overview

The central concepts of the theory of interpersonal neurobiology.

Many fields have explored the nature of mental life from psychology to psychiatry, literature to linguistics. Yet no common “framework” where each of these important perspectives can be honored and integrated with one another has been created in which a person seeking their collective wisdom can find answers to some basic questions, such as, What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? How do we know things, how are we conscious of ourselves? What is the mind? What makes a mind healthy or unwell? And, perhaps most importantly: What is the connection among the mind, the brain, and our relationships with one another?

Our mental lives are profoundly relational. The interactions we have with one another shape our mental world. Yet as any neuroscientist will tell you, the mind is shaped by the firing patterns in the brain. And so how can we reconcile this tension—that the mind is both embodied and relational? Interpersonal Neurobiology is a way of thinking across this apparent conceptual divide.

This Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology is designed to aid in your personal and professional application of the interpersonal neurobiology approach to developing a healthy mind, an integrated brain, and empathic relationships. It is also designed to assist you in seeing the intricate foundations of interpersonal neurobiology as you read other books in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology.

Praise for Daniel J. Siegel's books:

“Siegel is a must-read author for anyone interested in the science of the mind.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships

“[S]tands out for its skillful weaving together of the interpersonal, the inner world, the latest science, and practical applications.” —Jack Kornfield, PhD, founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center, and author of A Path With Heart

“Siegel has both a meticulous understanding of the roles of different parts of the brain and an intimate relationship with mindfulness . . . [A]n exciting glimpse of an uncharted territory of neuroscience.” —Scientific American Mind

“Dr. Daniel Siegel is one of the most thoughtful, eloquent, scientifically solid and reputable exponents of mind/body/brain integration in the world today.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, Full Catastrophe Living, and Coming to Our Senses

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393707137
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/02/2012
Series:	Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	560
Sales rank:	330,536
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Noted neuropsychiatrist Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute in LA. He is founding editor of the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology.

Table of Contents

Reflections and Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xv

1 Mind 1-1

2 Relationships 2-1

3 Brain and Body 3-1

4 Triangle of Well-Being 4-1

5 Awareness 5-1

6 Mindful Awareness 6-1

7 Attention 7-1

8 Neuroplasticity 8-1

9 SNAG: "Neurons that Fire Together, Wire Together" 9-1

10 The Brain in the Palm of Your Hand 10-1

11 Spinal Cord and Lamina I 11-1

12 Brainstem 12-1

13 Limbic Area 13-1

14 Cortex 14-1

15 The Brain as a System 15-1

16 Integration 16-1

17 Creativity, Health, and the River of Integration 17-1

18 Relationships and Integrative Communication 18-1

19 The Neurobiology of We 19-1

20 Attachment 20-1

21 Categories of Attachment 21-1

22 Mindsight 22-1

23 Attunement 23-1

24 Following Rupture with Repair 24-1

25 Time-In and Mindful Awareness Practices 25-1

26 The Wheel of Awareness 26-1

27 Middle Prefrontal Functions 27-1

28 Energy and Information Flow 28-1

29 Plane of Possibility 29-1

30 Memory 30-1

31 Narrative 31-1

32 Emotion 32-1

33 Windows of Tolerance and Response Flexibility 33-1

34 Interpersonal Attunement Shapes Self-Regulation 34-1

35 States of Mind 35-1

36 Mental Processes: Modes and Moods, Activities and Representations 36-1

37 Mental Well-Being and the Healthy Mind Platter 37-1

38 Un-Health and Dis-Ease 38-1

39 Making Sense of Trauma and Its Resolution 39-1

40 The Meaning of Well-Being 40-1

41 Domains of Integration 41-1

42 From Me to We: Synapse, Society, and An Expanded Self 42-1

43 Internal Education 43-1

Figures F-1-F-16

Annotated Index AI-1-AI-86

Nodal Network NN-1-NN-9

Editorial Reviews

"Many have explored the nature of mental life, yet no interdisciplinary approach has existed to address its issues or even define what the mind is. This book offers a new way of assessing how the mind works."

Midwest Book Review

"The book is a fascinating and lively guide, which engages the reader on many levels . . . . You can turn to any page of the book and find an access point to explore a web of integrated knowledge."

Journal of Analytical Psychology (UK)

"Siegel’s book does an amazing job reflecting his vast knowledge of how our brains and our relationships interact to shape our lives."

PsychCentral