Neuroplasticity: can our brain really change?

For a long time, the adult brain was considered relatively fixed. We now know that it has a remarkable capacity to adapt: neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change how it functions and how it is connected, in response to our experiences, our learning and repetition.

In other words, our brain is not set in stone.

Our brain learns… and can relearn

When we repeat a thought, a reaction or a behaviour, certain neural circuits can be reinforced. Over time, some responses become more automatic.

Picture a path through a forest.

The more often we take the same route, the easier it becomes to follow. Our habits and certain patterns of thought can work in a comparable way: the more a response is repeated, the more familiar and spontaneous it can become.

But it is also possible to take a new path.

Through new experiences, through learning and through repetition, the brain can strengthen other connections and gradually develop new ways of responding.

This is one of the fundamental principles of neuroplasticity.

What does this have to do with RTT?

Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) is concerned with the beliefs and associations that may help hold certain patterns in place.

By identifying where they came from, and working to change how certain experiences or beliefs are interpreted, the aim is to encourage new perspectives and new responses.

Repeating and reinforcing these new associations can then help consolidate the change.

Neuroplasticity reminds us of something essential: what we have learned over the course of our lives is not necessarily permanent.

Changing does not mean erasing your past. It is more a matter of gradually developing new ways of thinking, feeling and acting.

Our history influences us, but it does not necessarily determine our future. The brain's capacity to adapt shows us that new learning and new patterns can be built throughout life.