Crucible Neurobiological (CNT) was developed by Dr. Schnarch as the result of his failure to thrive clients. He began studying the commonalities of these clients along with the neuroscience literature on interpersonal neurobiology. The result is an attempt at a right brained therapy designed to create brain change for even the most difficult of clients.

CNT makes several contributions to the already sophisticated, Crucible Approach. The use of “revisualizations” and “mental written dialoguing” being two of the major additions. These two exercises allow the therapist to work closely with the client’s right brained unprocessed material that often prevents their brains from functioning optimally. The CNT therapist is trained to engage in a tight brain to brain experience with the clients that allows for a deeper understanding and contact with the brain. Engaging in this brain to brain experience with the clients, including creating intense “moments of meeting” with them, serves to induce the neuroplasticity that is necessary for change at the brain level.

Another key component that CNT adds to the Crucible Approach is “mind mapping”. Mind mapping is a person’s ability to create a mental picture of someone else’s mind, including their motivations and desires. It is a fundamental survival skill that most all human beings posses and it is often the key to dealing more closely with the problems that naturally arise in human relationships. Mind mapping allows the therapist to work with the clients on the level of what is happening not just on what is being said. This alone opens up the possibility for clients and couples who might have had little to no success in conventional therapies to now have a fighting chance.

In the words of Dr. Schnarch:

“CNT is not just an extrapolation of Crucible Therapy, but it really is a different way of practicing and it focuses more on what used to be called the artistry of therapy. Meaning it comes down to hard core ability to practice in a particular way. It involves the therapist’s ability to train their mind and brain to be able to detect things that are often so troubling to see that it impacts the therapist’s brain.”