Eight Brain Regions Every Therapist Should Know: A Neuroscience Guide

by | Mar 10, 2025 | Educational

Introduction
Understanding the brain can elevate your therapy practice, and in The Neuroscience Handbook for Clinicians by Dr. Jennifer Sweeton, eight key brain regions offer a roadmap for mental health professionals. At Online CE Credits, we help you apply neuroscience to client care. Let’s explore these regions and how our CE courses can deepen your knowledge.

The 8 Brain Regions You Need to Know
Dr. Sweeton outlines eight brain areas critical to mental health:

  1. Thalamus: Relays sensory information, impacting trauma (hypoactivation in PTSD), anxiety (fear conditioning), and addiction (drug-seeking), per Etkin & Wager (2007) and Parsons et al. (2007).

  2. Amygdala: The “fear center,” driving anxiety, PTSD, and emotional memory, per Abuhasan & Siddiqui (2018).

  3. Hippocampus: Manages long-term memory, underactive in depression, anxiety, and PTSD due to stress, per the handbook.

  4. Insula: Translates sensory experiences into emotions, altered in trauma, anxiety, and addiction, per Chapter 10.

  5. Nucleus Accumbens: The reward center, hyperactive in addiction, hypoactive in depression, per Yang et al. (2018).

  6. Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Regulates emotion and cognition, underactive in PTSD and addiction, per the handbook.

  7. Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex: Handles self-referential thinking, underactive in PTSD/anxiety, hyperactive in depression, per Chapter 10.

  8. Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex: Manages cognitive control, hypoactive in PTSD and depression, impacting emotion regulation, per the handbook.

Applying Neuroscience to Therapy
Understanding these regions lets you link brain changes to symptoms (e.g., lack of concentration being linked to prefrontal cortex underactivation) and select therapies (e.g., CBT for prefrontal cortex control). Dr. Sweeton’s handbook provides actionable insights, helping you create brain-based treatment plans, per its translational focus.

 

Learn Neuroscience with Online CE Credits
At Online CE Credits, several of our 24/7 on-demand programs help you earn CE credits while mastering brain-based therapy. Become a member for unlimited access – start today!

 

Conclusion
These eight brain regions offer a neuroscience roadmap for therapy. Apply them to your practice and deepen your expertise with Online CE Credits at onlinececredits.com. Join 40,000+ professionals, and transform your client care now!