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There is much that is positive in this lengthy recent treatment that attempts to bridge psychotherapy and neuroscience, one that generally follows closely in the conceptual paths recently outlined by Allan Schore (1994) and Dan Siegel (1999). It has many rather good case discussions, together with detailed summaries of wide-ranging literature documenting generative roles played by trauma and disrupted attachments in creating characterological pathology and our many derivative (and repetitive) forms of emotional suffering. There are also solid summary reviews of recent concepts about stress, PTSD, and hippocampal function. The volume makes frequent use of the increasingly popular and fashionable concepts of “co-constructed narratives,” “attachment as affect-regulation” (Schore, 1994), and psychotherapy as “neural network integration” (Siegel, 1999) in examining the basic processes of both parenting and psychotherapy in building and rebuilding the social brain.
The author makes careful and persuasive arguments for the pivotal roles in psychotherapy for empathy, for alliance building, and for careful addressing of transference issues often expressed in behavior far more than words. He advocates well and consistently for the titration of support and challenge within the alliance so as to not “lose” the patient with premature, severe challenges to characterological defenses. There is also a solid effort toward integrative treatments of varying psychotherapies, in terms of a bridging toward a common language, outlining potentially common processes cutting across the several models of psychotherapy. Indeed, from reading the book, I would have every expectation that Dr. Cozolino's patients are likely to get first-rate psychotherapy and consultation from him, and I probably would not hesitate to refer a friend or family member to him for treatment (a major vote of confidence for a clinician one has never met!). So, clearly, there is much to like and even admire in this broad