Coaching Blog

Is Neuroplasticity Over Hyped?

Posted by Julia Stewart

Neuroplasticity_brain_to_brain

Neuroplasticity training programs are popping up everywhere.

They make a pretty grand promise: That by just learning some easy tools, you can physically change your brain and therefore your behavior, your thoughts, your emotions, and you can even eliminate your addictions and habits. Wow! Who doesn't want permanent change like that?

But how do you know if they deliver?

And even if they do deliver, are there any unforeseen side effects? And how long before the effects take place? Days, months, decades? Can you cross-train your brain by practicing one activity and see then see improvements in another?

And do you really want a stranger tinkering with your brain?

These are questions I asked myself and then dug into research on the topic when I started designing the Certified Neuroscience Coach Program, because for a while, we called it the Certified Neuroplasticity Coach Program.

Bottom line: In coaching, it's the outcome that matters, the flourishing life or career that the client enjoys as a result of the coaching. That outcomes is generally due to changes in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which themselves are the result of changes in the brain. Brain change matters but outcomes matter most.

Neuroplasticity isn't even the point.

It's an intriguingly trendy name for a phenomenon that most neuroscientists were sure didn't exist until the 1990's when they discovered that the brain continues to change in adulthood, that in addition to new connections forming between neurons, new neurons actually form, as well. The discovery of neuroplasticity launched a whole new focus on personal development.

If you own an fMRI machine and are licensed to use it, perhaps you can promise to change your clients' brains in measurable ways and prove it. Otherwise, better to focus on the outcomes of neuroplasticity. And keep updating your knowledge, because there are downsides to brain change and questions about "dosage". For example:

  • The story of London cab drivers, who develop larger hippocampi by memorizing London’s 25,000 streets, is well known. Less well known is that the process of memorization undergone by these cabbies appears to have decreased other forms of memory, with resulting atrophy of corresponding brain regions. Neuroscientists have found evidence that there’s a trade-off, but they just don’t know for sure.
  • The story that brain plasticity trainings, such as Lumosity, don’t work, is also well known. But there are other brain-training programs by reputable scientists that still claim you can make sustainable changes to you brain. Are they right? It's hard to know without solid research evidence and that's not always available.
  • The recent book, Altered Traits, by Dan Goleman and Richie Davidson, is about how meditation changes the brain, but much of it cautions about over-promising because too much is still unknown. For example, you may know that meditation appears to make lasting changes the brain, but most of those findings have been based on people, such as Buddhist monks, who have been meditating several hours per day for decades. The problem is that, although meditation makes immediate changes, they tend to wear off quickly, and no one knows yet whether there is a reasonable amount that “regular people” can do to make lasting change.

So far, programs that promise neuroplasticity appear to over-promise.

On the other hand, neuroscience tools can be highly effective in coaching and, if you aren't using them yet, you probably need to start, especially if your clients seek lower stress levels, better focus, greater resilience, goal achievement and more because neuroscience tools and practices do appear highly effective in achieving desirable outcomes. Whether they also cause growth inside the brain, itself, is interesting but beside the point.

Clients want better outcomes not bigger brains.

If you're curious about using neuroscience tools and practices with your client, check out the courses included in the Certified Neuroscience Coach Program. Take a few course or take the entire program and upgrade your coaching with the latest tools. Download additional information by clicking below:

 

Learn More About Neuroscience Coaching Here

Topics: psychotherapy, personal development, coaching with neuroscience, Neuroplasticity, Certified Neuroplasiticty Coach, certified neuroscience coach

The New Certified Neuroscience Coach(tm) Is Open for Registration

Posted by Julia Stewart

Certified Neuroscience Coach Logo 11-20-18

There's a brand new coach training program that will teach you to use the power of the brain to help your clients create whatever they want.

You can save when you register for the Certified Neuroscience Coach Program now.

What is the Certified Neuroscience Coach Program?

  • "Positive neuroplasticity" has much in common with positive psychology. In fact, it helps explain why positive psychology is so effective! The Certified Neuroscience Coach program is a sub-specialty of the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® Program and includes 100 live distance-learning training hours.
  • This program will teach you what goes on in the brain, as well as the body's other information processing systems, during coaching and beyond. You'll learn how to help your clients move into more resourceful brain states and how to help your clients "hard-wire" desirable changes for themselves.
  • Neuroscience coaching is in demand for a variety of coaching specialties and niches, such as executive and leadership coaching, business coaching, life and wellness coaching, to name a few. Coach your clients to flourish, to make positivity their default, to enjoy more success, develop positive habits and let go of less desirable ones, to reach peak performance, coach positive brain states to enduring traits, and even how to maintain brain health and sharpness well into old age.
  • Plus, you'll develop transformative tools, so you can enjoy "self-directed neuroplasticity", yourself!
  • Depending on your previous training and credentials, you may be able to waive some courses and take electives that you choose, in their place.
  • Most coaches will complete this program in about a year with a minimum of 4 hours work per week. We give you up to two years to finish.

Here are the courses that are included:

If you want, just try one course. It's less expensive to take the whole program, though. If you decide to join the entire program within 30 days of completion of you course, you can apply 100% of the cost of the course to the program tuition. 

 

If you're interested in this program, let's talk. Please book an appointment here.

 

Or call +1-877-224-2780

 

Or visit the Certified Neuroscience Coach Program and download a fact sheet, below:

 

Download Certified Neuroscience Coach Fact Sheet

Topics: coach training, coaching with neuroscience, Neuroplasticity, Certified Neuroplasiticty Coach, certified neuroscience coach

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