Right Brain Affect Regulation (Schore, 2012) – Quotes/Ann’s Notes Comparison
Scholar’s Side …
Schore, A. N. (2012). Right brain affect regulation: An essential mechanism of development, trauma, dissociation, and psychotherapy. In Schore, A. N. The science of the art of psychotherapy (Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
“Introduction: Regulation theory and the primacy of affective structures and functions” (Schore, 2012).
Ann’s Side …
“Right Brain Affect Regulation” – Notes (Ann, 2017).
Hi, we’re Ann and all (Aynetal3). We are 58-years and am a Multiple. We had been studying at a Master’s level in Educational Psychology and Adult Education – e-learning, technology and design. We enjoy a strong interest in Self-Regulation and Multiplicity/Dissociation (DID, but w/o so much disorder). We do a lot of curating through reading and writing. We believe in the power of the BLOG and “all of our” ability to validate People, especially through sharing conversation, video, and art/images (Ann, 2017).
Italics are generally ours and emphasize parts of the sentence(s) that were used in our notes. The left side is the Author’s quotations. Information on the right within “quotes” and information to the left in italics – should be the same material). The right side is Ann’s Outline.
Definitions (Colman, 2015, Merriam-Webster Unabridged – Online, 2017, Schore, 2012, The New Oxford American Dictionary, nd).
1. Cognitive – Conscious intellectual activity (thinking, reasoning, remembering, imagining, or learning words) (MWU, 2017).
1. Cognition – Mental processes: the intellectual process by which knowledge is gained about perceptions or ideas – a conscious intellectual act (MWU, 2017). A cognition is an item of knowledge or belief (Colman, 2015).
2. Golden Thread – Understanding emotions and behavior as working together —> what’s happening that resolves emotional dilemmas (Schore, 2012).
3. Implied – (past tense … strongly suggest the truth or existence of (something not expressly stated) (TNOAD, nd).
4. Ontogenesis – Development of individual organism – self(s) (TNOAD, nd).
5. Phylogenesis – Development and diversification of an organism (multiple system — selfs) (TNOAD, nd).
6. Physiology – study of functioning of organisms (TNOAD, nd).
7. Primacy – Priority: the state of being first (as in importance, order, or rank) (MWU, 2017).
b. Human Condition
“To appreciate the patient’s motivation, we need to … discern the emotional experience he or she seeks. At times, the goal sought will be self-evident to patient and [therapist]. At other times, the goal will lie out of awareness and will be difficult to ascertain….” (Schore, 2012, p. 73). i. “Seeks” “… goals” (whether known or not)
“Now cognitive science must re-learn that ancient emotional systems have a power that is quite independent of neocortical cognitive processes….” (p. 72). ii. “Ancient emotional systems” (independent power – separate from “neocortical/cognitive processes”)
“A powerful engine for the increased energy and growth in the mental health field is the ongoing dialog it is having with neighboring disciplines, especially developmental science, biology, and neuroscience. This mutually enriching communication is centered on a common interest in the primacy of affect in the human condition” (p. 71). 1. (Priority) “Primacy of affect”/emotions
a. Primary – survive
b. Secondary – when safe, deal with emotions
“In the present interdisciplinary environment, psychological studies on the critical role of emotional contact between humans are now being integrated with biological studies on the impact of these relational interactions on brain systems that regulate emotional bodily based survival functions” (p. 71). i. “Emotional bodily based survival functions”
1. Each of the self have their own body memories —> they carry-around their own stories
2. Survival with body memories (holding trauma history) of infant/child sexual abuse
a. Periodically “act-out,” or “act-up”
“In the present interdisciplinary environment, psychological studies on the critical role of emotional contact between humans are now being integrated with biological studies on the impact of these relational interactions on brain systems that regulate emotional bodily based survival functions” (p. 71). iii. “Relational interactions” – “impact” …
See above. 1. “Brain Systems” – Multiplicity is a system (within brain – as “many” minds)
a. The selfs within system are implicit (not plainly expressed)
b. Multiplicity – Internalized other people who were safe, hence (“safe” self unconsciously created)
“…impact of these relational interactions on brain systems that regulate emotional bodily based survival functions” (p. 71). i. “Survival functions” (Infant/child’s) “ability” to stay alive
ii. Ability (goal/need) to stay alive (as a Multiple system – with self-relationships)
iii. Live/not die as an “internal system” (love/care)
iv. Without system, we feel we would perish
“The right hemisphere operates a distributed network for rapid responding to danger and other urgent problems” (p. 73). 1. Outer world too “danger” [ous]
a. Die/not live due to lack of external system (Attachment) love/care
“These emotional substrates promote cognitive-object relations, optimally through rich emotional experiences” (p. 71). iv. Visualized as layers (multiple selfs) —> “promote[s] cognitive-object relations”
1. Selfs are orphans —> need basic mother-object-relations
See above. a. Through Dr. Woollcott and Dr. Marvin, we gain the necessary “rich emotional experiences”
“I suggested that emotional communications between therapist and patient lie at the psychobiological core of the therapeutic alliance, and the right brain-to-right brain emotional processes are essential to development, psychopathology, and psychotherapy” (p. 72). b. Build a “therapeutic alliance” (patient/therapist)
See above. i. “Emotional communications” – “… right brain-to-right brain”
1. Internally with selfs, externally with Dr. Marvin
See above. c. Addresses “psychobiological core”
i. Human processes – caring is essential for selfs’ development
“…interpersonal neurobiology a number of essential right brain processes that lie at the core of the change process of psychotherapy” (p. 72). d. Psychotherapy “change processes” (core of therapy) – are essential right brain processes
See above. i. “Interpersonal neurobiology” of several “right brain processes” – reactions
“…on the essential right brain process of nonconscious affect regulation in development, in psychopathogenesis and trauma dissociation …” (p. 72). 1. “Nonconscious affect regulation in development”
See above. v. “Nonconscious” emotional “regulation”
vi. Regulation Theory – Summary
“Introduction: Regulation Theory and the primacy of affective structures and functions” (p. 72). 1. Primarily, we are [emotional] “structures” [self] and we are “function” [ing]
“A central theme running throughout all my work is the exploration of the primacy of affective processes in various critical aspects of the human experience. Lane, Ahern, Schwartz, and Kaszniak stress the evolutionary functions of both implicit and explicit affects” (p. 72). 2. “Critical aspects of the human experience”
See above. 3. “Implicit” emotions (implied not expressed), & “Explicit” emotions (in accordance with facts)
See above. a. “Evolutionary functions”
“Primary emotional responses have been preserved through Phylogenesis because they are adaptive. They provide an immediate assessment of the extent to which goals or needs are being met in interaction with the environment, and they reset the organism behaviorally, physiologically, cognitively, and experientially to adjust to these changing circumstances” (p. 72). i. “Primary emotional responses” are “adaptive”
See above. 1. Feedback —> provides “immediate assessment” to meet “goals or needs” “… interaction with the environment”
See above. 2. “Reset the organism” to meet “changing circumstances” – affects
See above. a. Behavior
See above. b. Physiology
See above. c. Cognition
See above. d. Experiences
ii. Preserve emotions through body memories and through selfs’ memories
See above. iii. “Phylogenesis” —> Multiples —> Develop & diversify
See above. 1. Survive “adaptive” [ly] —> Right hemisphere’s functions
“…the adaptive survival functions of the right hemisphere, the “locus of emotional brain,” are dominant in relational contexts at all stages of the life span, including the intimate context of psychotherapy” (p. 73). a. “Dominant in relational context, at all stages [ages of selfs] of the lifespan”
See above. b. “Dominant in relational context in…” “…psychotherapy”
“… I have integrated a large body of clinical and neurobiological data to argue that the right brain implicit self represents the biological substrate of the human unconscious mind and is intimately involved in the processing of bodily based affective information associated with various motivational states” (p. 73). iv. Underlying the “unconscious mind”
See above. 1. “Biological” /chemical
See above. 2. “Right brain implicit self” [s]
See above. a. “Intimately involved in the processing of affective [emotional] bodily based information” (shock/trauma)
See above. b. “Associated with various motivational states”
i. Various conscious minds/selfs/ w/various reasons for acting-out behaviorally (at any given time)
“Lichtenberg observes a central focus of the psychotherapeutic encounter” (p. 73). 4. “psychotherapeutic encounter” [s] —> “central focus”
“To appreciate the patient’s motivation, we need to … discern the emotional experience he or she seeks. At times, the goal sought will be self-evident to patient and [therapist]. At other times, the goal will lie out of awareness and will be difficult to ascertain…. The golden thread in assessing motivation lies in discovering the affect being sought in conjunction with the behavior being investigated. (2001, p. 440, my italics)” (p. 73). a. Is “to appreciate the patient’s motivation”
See above. i. Running story/explains behaviors
See above. 1. Perceive/recognize “emotional experience” (whether evident or not)
See above. b. “Golden thread in accessing” and sharing patients’ storyline to
See above. i. Discover deep-seated emotions in conjunction with “behavior being investigated”
ii. What is patient reaching for? Goals?
iii. Is her method working?
