Executive Functioning and Psychotherapy: The New Neuroscience of Adaptive Intelligence
Book Details
- Publisher : WW Norton & Co
- Published : December 2025
- Cover : Paperback
- Pages : 336
- Category :
Forthcoming - Category 2 :
Neuroscience - Catalogue No : 98358
- ISBN 13 : 9781324053231
- ISBN 10 : 1324053232
Also by Louis Cozolino
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A new model of executive functioning which illuminates the somatic, social and emotional influences on how we make decisions.
Executive functioning (EF) can be defined as a person’s ability to successfully navigate their physical, intellectual and social worlds. Interest in EF is expanding within psychotherapy, but like many scientific concepts which are adapted to the consulting room, there is a great deal of confusion and misinformation surrounding EF within clinical and lay communities.
In this book, Louis Cozolino - a master of translating complex neuroscientific concepts into digestible, applicable literature for therapists and laypeople alike - is joined by experts Chloe Drulis and Carly Trissler to illuminate how our brains and minds successfully navigate the challenges of day-to-day life. The book offers a new, neurodynamic model of EF that explains the three main executive systems in the brain and the specific ways that they influence how we think, focus and solve problems. This neurobiological framework highlights the interconnectedness of cognition, emotion and relationships, providing readers with a deeper understanding of how humans function and strategies to improve outcomes in therapy, parenting, executive coaching and personal development.
Reviews and Endorsements
Cozolino, Drulis, and Trissler have written an extremely important book which revamps the concept of executive functioning, aligning EF strongly with neuroscience 2.0: the science of big brain networks. With thoroughness and clarity, the authors review the three core brain networks and then propose a new three-system model of EF. Finally, they apply this model to the work of therapists and coaches, moving seamlessly from the theory to practical applications. I highly recommend this book to all mental health professionals.
Jonathan Baylin, PhD, psychologist and coauthor of The Neurobiology of Attachment-Focused Therapy and Brain-Based Parenting
Each of Lou Cozolino’s books offers a masterful synthesis of current neuroscientific knowledge combined with development psychology and psychotherapy research. This book prophetically steps toward the future with a superb blend of cutting-edge science by explaining how a mental health practitioner may apply this knowledge. He and his coauthors, Chloe Drulis and Carly Trissler, provide vignettes and helpful summaries that illustrate and teach. They take an illuminating dive into the historical background and new insights of our executive networks. This excellent book ushers in a renaissance in mental health care.
John Arden, PhD, ABPP, author of Mind–Brain–Gene
Again, Louis Cozolino is helping clinicians understand themselves, their clients, and their brains better. In Executive Functioning and Psychotherapy, the reenvisions the neuroscience of executive function beyond the frontal lobe to include the amygdala and the attachment network, creating a more integrative view where both stress management and improved relationships are crucial to improved cognitive and interpersonal functioning. A must-read for anyone doing clinical work with children and adults.
Amy Banks, MD, founding scholar of the International Center for Growth in Connection
Written with the practicing therapist in mind, this compelling volume reframes executive functioning as an embodied, relational process central to every therapeutic encounter. Cozolino, Drulis, and Trissler offer a three-system neurobiological model that helps clinicians see beyond deficits, access deeper client strengths, and tailor interventions with greater precision. A vital resource for therapists seeking to integrate brain-based insight with compassionate, effective care.
Mary L. Meador, MD, board-certified family physician and founder, Good Doctor, Healthy Soul, LLC
About the Author(s)
Louis Cozolino, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University and a private practitioner. He is the author of The Healthy Aging Brain, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships, The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy, and The Making of a Therapist.
Chloe Drulis is an associate marriage and family therapist practicing in Santa Monica and a writer specializing in interpersonal neurobiology.
Carly Trissler is a Phoenix-based writer with expertise in Interpersonal Neurobiology. She holds an MA in psychology from Pepperdine University.
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