Built on neuroscience, not trends.
Cathexis is grounded in seven research programs from contemporary neuroscience and psychology. These aren't references. They're the architecture.
Long form: /neuroscience
THE STACK
FREE • CC BY 4.0
HES 1.1
The Human Experience System.
Theory. Ten Layers.
The transdisciplinary theory beneath the framework - ten interacting layers.
FREE • CC BY 4.0
HEF Clinical Manual 3.0
The Human Experience Framework.
Classification. Sixteen Territories, not diagnoses.
The complete clinical reference. Formulation and treatment-planning. Not billing.
FREE • CC BY 4.0
CSO v1.1 / white paper 2.2
The Cathexis Somatic Ontology.
Vocabulary.
Formal vocabulary for body-based therapeutic data. Namespace: /ontology/cso
HEF 3.0
The complete clinical reference is HEF 3.0, free. The Community Guide at /hef is not the clinical reference. The method is the Practitioner Manual.
Give away the map; sell the training.
SEVEN RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Constructed Emotion Theory — Lisa Feldman Barrett
Your brain constructs emotions from body signals, past experience, and context. Emotions aren't triggered — they're built. Cathexis starts with the raw interoceptive signal, before the construction.
Predictive Processing — Karl Friston
Your brain runs predictions about what's coming next, then compares those predictions to what actually arrives. The mismatch — prediction error — is how the brain learns. Cathexis makes this process visible and generates the prediction errors that drive change.
Primary Affect Systems — Jaak Panksepp
Seven subcortical circuits drive motivation and emotional life: SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF, and PLAY. These are not constructed — they are evolved biological systems. Cathexis tracks which systems are active and which are suppressed.
Somatic Markers — Antonio Damasio
Body states shape every decision you make. The tightness before a choice, the gut drop that signals danger — these are somatic markers, and they run faster than conscious thought. Cathexis teaches you to read them.
Neuropsychoanalysis — Mark Solms
Unconscious processes aren't mysterious — they're predictions running outside awareness. Consciousness exists to handle prediction errors the brain can't resolve automatically. Cathexis surfaces these patterns so you can observe them.
The Entangled Brain — Luiz Pessoa
Emotion is not localized to one brain region. It's a whole-brain phenomenon, with networks co-participating across regions. Cathexis visualizes activation as distributed — never "your fear center."
Memory Systems & Reconsolidation — Eric Kandel, Karim Nader, Daniela Schiller, Bruce Ecker
Memories aren't permanent recordings. When retrieved, they become unstable and can be updated — reconsolidation. This is how patterns that have been running for years can genuinely change. Cathexis creates the conditions for reconsolidation through targeted practice.
Long form: /neuroscience
CSO • CXSO
A formal vocabulary for representing body-based experience in computational systems. Published on NCBO BioPortal as CXSO.
29
zones
20
qualities
16
territories
7
affect systems
The open science above is free forever. The training is published seperately.
APPLIED TRAINING
$129 • Founding / PRE-CE
Practitioner Manual
The clinical method for licensed practitioners. Complete with then app.
$4.99
Developmental Guide
For parents, and the clinicians and educators beside them.
FRAMEWORK UPDATES
The framework is being validated, revised, and extended. If you want to know when a new version publishes, leave an email.