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Teaching Mental Health to the Brain Using Executive Functions in Therapy Abstract
Teaching Mental Health to the Brain – Using Executive Functions in Therapy (90-minute presentation withquestion/answer period)

Learning Objectives
1. Identify the general organization of frontal/subcortical circuits and how they impact total brain functioning. 2. Understand what the research says about how theprocesses of executive function influence a person’s behavior and emotional functioning throughout development. 3. Use knowledge of executive functions and teaching strategies to design effectivetherapeutic strategies tailored to the individual.

Key points to be covered
1. Introduction: Usually therapy is conceptualized as a collaborative working relationship between a client with needs andgoals, and a therapist, who has specialized skills to help the client achieve their goals. An incompletely understood and appreciated “partner” in this relationship, however, are the circuitsactivated in the prefrontal cortex that comprise the executive functions, conceptualized as a “set of processes that all have to do with managing oneself and one’s resources in order to achieve a goal” (LDOnline). 2. A discussion of how recent brain imaging advances (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) reveal the neural pathways throughout the brain involved in executive function and George McCloskey’s model ofexecutive functioning, including domains of functioning directed by executive functions (action, cognition, perception, and emotion) and the Self-Control tier (self-realization, selfdetermination,self-regulation, and self-activation). 3. A specific discussion of 23 Self-Regulation executive function capacities that are embedded in most counseling models and strategies. 4. An examination ofexecutive functions through the lenses of the client (how do clients present when executive functions break down?), the environment (how do characteristics of the social environment impact executive...