The traditional image of psychotherapy often involves a patient reclining on a couch, delving into their deepest traumas. This process, aimed at uncovering unconscious habits and drives, has long been a cornerstone of therapeutic practice. However, the cognitive processes that underpin this newfound awareness—what occurs in the patient’s brain during therapy—remain largely enigmatic.
“Part of the problem with psychotherapy is that we haven’t had good insights into the mechanistic problems,” explained Jaan Aru, an associate professor at the University of Tartu, during an interview with the Observer. “So, it’s very hard to design a therapy.”
In a 2025 paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Aru and his graduate student, Nick Kabrel, argue that awareness of unrecognized psychological and behavioral challenges is the most crucial mechanism in conversation-based psychotherapy. They propose that this awareness can be framed as a process that expands one’s cognitive map and alters how individuals navigate their minds. This framework offers a testable theory regarding the neural correlates of successful psychotherapy.
Exploring the Concept of Mental Navigation
Kabrel’s journey to this theory was sparked by personal experience. He observed how a therapist’s questions prompted him to explore his memories and beliefs, leading to powerful introspection. Intrigued by what was happening in his brain during these moments, Kabrel noted, “When I search through memory or search in my mind, it always feels as if I am navigating in some kind of environment.”
As Kabrel delved deeper into this notion of mental navigation, he realized he was not alone. In a 2024 study, he and Aru demonstrated that patients and therapists frequently used spatial language—such as “this is unexplored territory” or “I’m going in circles”—during therapy sessions, more so than in everyday conversations.
Constructing Cognitive Maps
In their latest paper, Aru and Kabrel propose a framework based on how individuals construct their internal worlds through cognitive maps. These maps are structured representations of objects, concepts, people, and memories, along with their interrelationships. The inspiration for this model comes from research on how the brain represents three-dimensional space, notably the work of O’Keefe and Dostrovsky (1971) and Hafting (2005). In the hippocampus, place cells activate when animals are in specific locations, while the entorhinal cortex’s grid cells function like a coordinate map.
Recent research has shown that these cells also encode abstract concepts, such as time, sound, social hierarchies, and word meanings (MacDonald, 2011; Aronov, 2017; Park, 2021; Solomon, 2019; Viganò, 2021). “The brain is highly likely to make use of this mapping system in these other domains, too,” Aru noted. “This idea of mental navigation could be a very general framework to understand thinking and abstract cognition.”
Implications for Therapy and Beyond
Framing introspection as a form of mental navigation may help individuals recognize that altering their cognitive maps can lead them out of pathological thought patterns. For instance, someone with depression might interpret negative interactions as personal failings due to perceived flaws. This thought pattern, akin to a well-trodden path in a forest, becomes reinforced over time.
A therapist guiding them to reinterpret these interactions—a different navigational route—can help reframe their thoughts. Kabrel suggests therapists might say, “This is the place where we are stuck. We come back here every time, but we need to expand this.”
Aru believes this concept extends beyond those with mental illness. “Often the problem is that people have very narrow maps, very narrow ways of thinking. And it’s a very general problem,” he said. “Our goal as a society could be to expand the way people actually think.”
Future Directions and Scientific Exploration
The paper aims to inspire psychological scientists and neuroscientists to design experiments that test this new framework and its potential neural correlates. Aru acknowledges that some scientists may be skeptical. “It’s completely understandable if there are scientists who would say, ‘Oh, you’re stretching it too far. How do you know that it’s really related to grid cells?'” he explained. “For me, this is the fun thing about science. You can try to make these links, and sometimes these links are actually there. Then suddenly we might be understanding something that we previously didn’t, and we might be expanding our own mental maps with that.”
As the field of psychotherapy continues to evolve, the exploration of cognitive maps and mental navigation offers a promising avenue for understanding and enhancing therapeutic practices. The implications of this research could lead to more effective treatments and a deeper understanding of the human mind.
