Dr. Whitney McLaughlin, assistant professor of counselor education, is a contributor in a new textbook, “The Neuroeducation Toolbox: Practical Translations of Neuroscience in Counseling and Psychotherapy,” released in June by Cognella.

 

The text, edited by Drs. Raissa Miller and Eric Beeson, provides students and clinicians with a set of tools for integrating neuroscience into clinical practice. McLaughlin's activity, subtitled “Balancing Your Seesaw: Using Animation and Metaphors to Explore How Chronic Stress Affects the Brain and Body,” highlights how media and metaphors can be used to explore and translate neuroscientific concepts into counseling practice with clients. 

 

The purpose of the Balance Your Seesaw activity is to initiate discussions about neuroscience and stress, specifically related to clients’ allostatic loads, and promote the mind-body connection with stress. The novel clinical approaches in the text emphasize how to apply neuroeducation (aka brain-based education or educational neuroscience) gleaned from neuroscience research and literature into clinical practice.