Neuropsychoanalysis

Domain I · Psychodynamic & depth psychology · Mark Solms, Karen Kaplan-Solms · 2000

What it is

Say it plainly first: neuropsychoanalysis is a framework, not a manualised therapy. It has no treatment manual, no fixed number of sessions and no institute protocol. It is a way of grounding psychoanalytic theory and technique in affective neuroscience. In practice the treatment is ordinary…

Format

• The sources give no formal phases. Solms (2018) does describe a technical sequence: identify the dominant emotions → use them to find the meaning of the symptom and the predictions behind it → infer the predictions from repetitive patterns → interpret their here-and-now (transference) derivatives →…
• Format. Individual psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy, open-ended, with frequent sessions. Solms (2018) says psychoanalytic treatment "takes time" and that working through needs numerous repetitions. No session count is specified in the sources. Lee & Solms (2024) say change will not…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Fewer reactive changes of plan. A steadier frame.
• The return of interest, anticipation and exploratory talk.
• The wish softens into a statement of the need and of the fear.
• The feeling can be held in the room without collapse or retaliation.
• Grief moves from protest to sadness, and interest (SEEKING) returns.

Problems the guide addresses

• Resistance
• Stuck clients (no movement despite insight)
• Overwhelm (affect flooding)
• Non-adherence (missed sessions, lateness, drop-out risk)
• Ruptures
• Modality-specific difficulties

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.