Connecting the Dots
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity for change. Psychotherapy provides a roadmap for creating it.
If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen the term neuroplasticity. At least, it seems to be everywhere in my Instagram feed.
It has become a popular topic in psychology, wellness, health, and personal growth. Posts promise ways to “rewire your brain,” create new neural pathways, break old patterns, and build healthier habits.
As a psychologist, I love seeing people interested in neuroplasticity because the science is genuinely exciting. The idea that our brains continue to change and adapt throughout our lives offers something many people need: hope.
But as I watch these conversations unfold, I often find myself thinking:
Psychologists and neuroscientists have understood the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt and change for decades. While the term “neuroplasticity” has become a popular buzzword, the science behind it is well established.
Neuroplasticity helps explain why change is possible.
Evidence-based psychotherapies are built around the very principles that drive neuroplastic change: helping people intentionally change patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving through repeated practice and new experiences.
Psychotherapy helps us understand why our patterns developed while also giving us practical tools to create healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
What Is Neuroplasticity?
In simple terms, neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to adapt, reorganize, and modify its neural connections throughout life.1-3
Unlike a computer that operates according to fixed programming, the brain is constantly changing. It forms new connections, strengthens frequently used pathways, and weakens or prunes pathways that are no longer needed or used.1-4
This process occurs every day.
We see it when children learn language. We see it when athletes develop new skills. We see it when musicians master an instrument. We see it when individuals recover from injuries, adapt to sensory loss (e.g., sight, hearing), a loss of a limb, or find new ways to perform everyday tasks after illness or physical limitations.5-7
The human brain is remarkably adaptable. Neuroplasticity is simply the brain’s way of learning from experience.
Neuroplasticity Is Happening All the Time
Neuroplasticity is a constant process, whether we’re aware of it or intentionally trying to influence it.
Our brains are constantly adapting to our experiences, whether those experiences are helpful or unhelpful.
The brain learns through repetition. The more we practice a skill, the stronger that skill becomes. Likewise, the more we engage in healthy habits, the easier and more automatic those habits become.
At the same time, the more we practice worry, avoidance, self-criticism, or unhealthy behaviors, the stronger those patterns become.
Neuroplasticity itself is neither good nor bad. It is simply the brain’s capacity to change. The brain learns from what we repeatedly think, do, and experience, whether those patterns are productive or harmful.
The question is not whether your brain is changing. The question is: What is it learning?
So How Do We Create Positive Change?
This is where the conversation becomes particularly interesting.
If neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change, how do we intentionally shape that change in ways that support our health, well-being, and performance?
The answer is surprisingly familiar.
We learn.
We practice.
We make mistakes.
We adjust.
We repeat.
We experiment.
We experience.
We adapt.
We stay consistent.
In other words, we do many of the same things that occur in effective psychotherapy.
If you’ve read my previous blogs or worked with me in therapy, you’ve probably heard me say this before:
Anything of value requires ongoing, consistent effort.
Neuroplasticity is no exception.
Learning New Perspectives, Intentionally
Meaningful change begins with awareness. Before we can change a pattern, we first have to recognize it.
We may learn to recognize an unhelpful thinking pattern, develop a more balanced perspective, or understand ourselves in a new way.
Our interpretations influence how we respond to challenges, setbacks, emotions, and opportunities.
When our perspective changes, our experience often changes as well.
Practicing New Behaviors
Knowledge alone rarely changes lives.
Most people already know that exercise is good for them. They know that stress management matters. They know that self-care is important.
Change happens when knowledge is translated into action.
The brain learns from what we repeatedly think, do, and experience, whether those patterns are helpful or unhelpful.
This is one reason behavioral approaches are so powerful. New experiences create new opportunities for learning and adaptation.
Responding Differently to Emotions
Many people seek therapy hoping to eliminate difficult emotions.
In reality, growth often occurs when we learn to respond differently to those emotions, or better yet, change how we interpret ourselves and/or environment; which then leads to change in emotion.
Additionally, rather than avoiding anxiety (or situations that lead us to feel anxious), we may learn to make room for it, allowing it to exist while intentionally redirecting our attention toward something meaningful or purposeful. Like any new skill, this becomes easier with practice as the brain adapts.
Rather than fighting every uncomfortable thought, we may learn to observe it without becoming consumed by it.
Rather than waiting to feel confident before taking action, we may learn to act in the presence of uncertainty. Confidence often follows action, not the other way around.
These new experiences teach the brain something important: we are capable of handling more than we often believe.
Imagine someone with social anxiety. For years, their brain has learned that avoiding social situations provides immediate relief. Every avoided conversation reinforces that pathway. In therapy, they gradually begin approaching those situations instead. At first, it’s uncomfortable. But with repeated practice, the brain learns a new lesson: anxiety is tolerable, and avoidance is no longer necessary. That is neuroplasticity in action.
Creating New Experiences
Perhaps the most important ingredient in neuroplastic change is experience itself.
The brain changes in response to experience.
This is why practice matters.
This is why habits matter.
This is why relationships matter.
And this is why psychotherapy can be so powerful.
At its best, psychotherapy is not simply a conversation about problems. It is a structured process for creating new experiences, testing new possibilities, developing new skills, and practicing new ways of responding to life’s challenges.
Why Insight Alone Isn’t Enough
One of the most common assumptions people bring into therapy is that understanding a problem will automatically solve it.
Insight is valuable. Understanding ourselves matters.
But insight alone is often insufficient for lasting change.
You can understand that anxiety is not dangerous and still avoid situations that make you anxious.
You can understand that perfectionism is holding you back and still find yourself caught in the same cycle.
You can understand the importance of exercise and still struggle to be physically active.
You can notice your thoughts and feelings, and still react with your pattern of irritability, snapping at loved ones.
Why?
Because change requires more than information.
Change requires more than information. It requires experience. Every time we choose a new response, practice a healthier habit, or face something we’ve been avoiding, we give the brain an opportunity to learn something new. Learning the new is different, creates discomfort, is hard; and it is in those moments of doing something different, that is challenging; is when the neural changes happen.
Every small step matters because repeated experiences shape lasting change. It is the pebble in the rock stream that will eventually forge a new path, as that small pebble disrupts the existing flow of water.
Lasting change occurs when we repeatedly practice new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
Over time, those experiences become learning.
And that learning becomes adaptation.
Neuroplasticity in Everyday Life
Neuroplasticity is not limited to therapy offices or neuroscience laboratories.
We see it everywhere.
An athlete refining a skill or learning a new movement pattern through countless repetitions is harnessing neuroplasticity. What once felt awkward eventually becomes automatic.
A person recovering from a cardiac event and gradually rebuilding confidence in their body is harnessing neuroplasticity.
Someone adjusting to a chronic illness and developing new routines is harnessing neuroplasticity.
A person learning to manage anxiety by approaching situations they once avoided is harnessing neuroplasticity.
In every example, the principle is the same:
The brain changes in response to changes in experience.
The Connection Between Neuroplasticity and Psychotherapy
The growing interest in neuroplasticity reflects something deeply encouraging: our capacity for change does not disappear with age or circumstance.
Our brains remain adaptable throughout our lives.
Psychotherapy does not create that capacity. It already exists.
What psychotherapy offers is a roadmap.
Evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Positive Psychology, Solution-Focused Therapy, and other cognitive and behavioral interventions help people intentionally engage in the kinds of learning, practice, and experiences that promote growth.
In many ways, psychotherapy is one of the most powerful applications of neuroplasticity we have. Not because psychotherapy directly changes the brain on its own, but because it helps people repeatedly create the kinds of experiences that allow positive neuroplastic changes to occur.8-11
Final Thoughts
The growing conversation about neuroplasticity is exciting, and for good reason.
It reminds us that change is possible for anyone, at any stage of life.
But neuroplasticity is only part of the story.
The more important question is how we intentionally shape that change.
Through learning, practice, repetition, emotional growth, new experiences, and intentional action, we influence the pathways that shape our lives.
Neuroplasticity helps explain why change is possible. Change is happening all the time, sometimes in ways that serve us and sometimes in ways that don’t. Over time, what we repeatedly do grows stronger. What we repeatedly practice becomes more automatic. What we repeatedly think influences how we see ourselves and the world around us.
Meaningful change rarely happens all at once. It begins with small, intentional steps that are repeated consistently until they become new patterns.
Psychotherapy helps us become intentional about that process.8-12 It creates the optimal conditions for positive change through awareness, attention, values-based action, and repeated practice. In my work with clients, those conditions also include caring for the whole person through attention to nutrition, hydration, movement, and sleep because our brains and bodies are deeply connected.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity for change.
Psychotherapy provides a roadmap for shaping that change in meaningful ways.
Are you ready to create change in your life, your mind, and your brain? Use my Online Calendar to book an appointment, call or email. I offer free 15-minute virtual consultations, see folks in person in my office in West Ashley, Charleston, SC, or virtually across the United States (https://psypact.gov/page/psypactmap).
Today prepares you for tomorrow. Anything of value requires ongoing, consistent effort.
– Eva Serber, PhD, LLC
References
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- Pascual-Leone A, Amedi A, Fregni F, Merabet LB. The plastic human brain cortex. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2005;28:377-401.
- Cramer SC, Sur M, Dobkin BH, et al. Harnessing neuroplasticity for clinical applications. Brain. 2011;134(6):1591-1609.
- Kleim JA, Jones TA. Principles of experience-dependent neural plasticity: implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2008;51(1):S225-S239.
- Ramachandran VS, Hirstein W. The perception of phantom limbs. Brain. 1998;121(Pt 9):1603-1630.
- Merzenich MM, Van Vleet TM, Nahum M. Brain plasticity-based therapeutics. Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:385.
- Davidson RJ, McEwen BS. Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nat Neurosci. 2012;15(5):689-695.
- Hofmann SG, Asnaani A, Vonk IJJ, Sawyer AT, Fang A. The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cogn Ther Res. 2012;36(5):427-440.
- Beck JS. Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond. 3rd ed. Guilford Press; 2020.
- Hayes SC, Strosahl KD, Wilson KG. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change. 2nd ed. Guilford Press; 2012.
- Kandel ER. A new intellectual framework for psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155(4):457-469.
- Seligman MEP. Flourish. Free Press; 2011.
