Emotion-Focused Therapy: A Critical Approach

Therapists can help clients feel their feelings more fully by creating an environment where the client feels safe. Helping client’s feel their feelings rather than talk about them intellectually opens an opportunity for the client to enter their own experience more fully. Using open-ended questions to explore the client’s feelings can be effective. Therapists should clarify what the affective word the client uses means; not just assume they understand. Angry can mean many different things to many different people. Getting clarification not only helps the therapist understand more but protects them from overidentifying or misperceiving the client’s experience as being the same as they have experienced. It allows the therapist to enter the client’s subjective world. Entering the client’s subjective world, having the client feel respected and understood, increases the trust in the relationship. It gives the client the opportunity to learn more about themselves and possibly have a corrective emotional experience because they are met with empathy and validation from the therapist rather than the judgement, disdain, and invalidation they may have experienced with others in their lives. Another way a therapist can help a client experience their feelings is by speaking to the incongruence they perceive between what the client is sharing and the accompanying affect. This intervention starts

Emotion focused therapy (EFT) uses multiple techniques to illicit emotional reconstruction. “By bringing awareness, regulation, reflection and transformation” (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 160) to the forefront, the client, has the ability to focus on those emotions and recognize the maladaptive strategies used to alleviate these responses. Within EFT validation is key in promoting congruence, positive regard and empathy. “Validation is the processes of letting the [client] know that the therapist views their needs and reactions as understandable, valid, and normal” (Denton, Johnson, & Burleson, 2009). By allowing the client to lead the session and reflecting the client’s emotions back to her you reinforced to the client that it was safe

Before starting the discussion of emotion-focused therapy, it is very important to have an understanding of what emotion is. Historically, emotions were seen as nonspecific and disruptive; however more recent analyses have emphasized the functions that emotions serve (Hebb, 1949). Although emotions address different adaptive problems, they generally facilitate decision making, prepare the individual for rapid motor responses and provide information regarding the ongoing match between organism and environment (Schwarz & Clore, 1983). In addition to this, emotion also serves as a social function for they inform us about others’ behavioral intentions, give us clues as to whether something is good or bad and control our social behavior (Greenberg & Safran, 1987). From an emotion-focused perspective, according to Greenberg (2004), emotion disorder is seen as a result of more failures in the dyadic regulation of affect, avoidance of affect, traumatic

Within the early practices of family therapy, it began during the 1950’s and focused upon an individual-therapist relationship (www.abacon.com). Early therapist such as Freud and Rodgers focused upon the individual behavior which was internal, even though they understood that family interactions shapes a person’s

Process Experiential Emotion-Focused Therapy (PEEFT) is an approach used to improve the regulation, expression, acceptance, integration and transformation of emotional experiences. Emotions govern the way we interact with the world around us and serve as the primary driver of decision making, allowing us to identify potential risk and understanding personal needs and desires. The process of Emotion Focused therapy (EFT) is essentially to improve overall emotional intelligence by working with the clients current emotional experiences, understanding maladaptive emotional scheme that may be preventing the clients personal growth and impeding on their everyday life and experiencing. The EFT therapist guides the client through a process of awareness and expression of emotions that can then be understood, reflected upon, integrated and transformed to add meaning to their personal experiences.

Solution-focused therapy has been criticized for abandoning the expressive progressions of clients, yet, an analysis of works challenges this argument and shows that the use of positive self-talk within the changing process of Solution-focused therapy has been existing since its beginning expansion. This paper will explore the historical context of Solution Focused Therapy and how the theory has evolved. The author will also examine the underlying assumptions of the theory and causes, components of change, target of clinical intervention, and the role of therapist who practice Solution-focused therapy. The author will also attempt to identity multicultural, gender, and social justice issues and compare their targeted theory with other theoretical approaches involving Solution-focused therapy. In the end suggest possible modifications to overcome identified strengths and limitations of Solution Focused Therapy.

The theoretical orientation that best suites my personal style is a combination of both client-centered and brief therapy. In the first part of the paper, I try and describe the importance of developing a good client/therapist relationship using a client-centered approach. I like this approach the best because it helps the client to be more open and truthful with the therapist. There are several techniques that I find important in developing this bond such as: genuineness, unconditional positive regard, accurate empathy, and active listening. After building a relationship with the client, a therapist is now faced with identifying and solving a problem behavior. With this in mind, I found that the brief therapy method best fits my style.

Therapy has been used for many generations as a mean to resolve dilemmas in a persons’ life. Unfortunately, due to cultural aspects, therapy is generally centered on an individual. We typically presume that any problem that one may exhibit can be solved through personal realizations. However, society and therapists alike are

Through my academic and clinical training, I have developed an integrative theoretical orientation. Foundational to my therapeutic approach is establishing an empathic, caring, genuine, and authentic relationship with my client. My perspective on therapy utilizes a strength-based, trauma informed, and developmental lens. With this foundation and perspective, I explore the unique interaction within and between my client’s intrapersonal dimensions and their context.

Focus on affect and expression of emotion. Psychodynamic therapy encourages exploration and discussion of the full range of a patient’s emotions. The therapist helps the patient describe and put words to feelings, including contradictory feelings, feelings that are troubling or threatening, and feelings that the patient may not

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy focusses on the feelings that impact behavior. The importance is on receptiveness of the couple to the emotional needs that arise when discussing their issues and finding solutions to the conflicts. A couple is helped to recognize and understand their connection and need for attachment. This therapy is centered on the theory that couples childhood experiences strongly influence the couple’s behavior in the relationship. In order for this therapy to be effective the professionals in the human service field must be competent in many facets. They must be able to use non-verbal and verbal skills of communication, use reflective techniques and ask closed and open ended questions. In addition the counselor

They can become angry or protest due to the loss of desired contact with their attachment figure or partner and have a difficult time regulating emotions (Tobin, 2016). Relationship distress is described in emotion-focused couple therapy as a continuous absorption of negative affective as well as rigid interaction patterns (Tobin, 2016). There is also an increased lack of soothing behaviors amongst the couple. Soothing behaviors are described as a similar experience a child may have with their mother when they are feeling distressed, the mother soothes the child to alleviate said distress. Emotion focused therapy focuses on helping reduce defensive fairs by having people relax so that they can target their true emotions (Tobin, 2016). According to emotion focused therapy the person’s attachment that is threatened can engage in one of four ways to help them cope. They may experience anger or protest toward their partner, cling to their partner, experience despair, or detach or separate themselves from their partner (Tobin,

The Albert Ellis Institute (AEI) was established in 1959, has a commitment to promoting emotional well-being through research and applications with a focus on short-term therapy with long-term results. The therapy approach presented on the website is based on the rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) and action-oriented psychotherapy that teaches individuals to identify, change, and replace their negative beliefs with healthier ones which promote emotional well-being (The Albert Ellis Institute, 2014). Based on the information provided on the site an individual is able to decide if this approach to therapy is right for them in dealing with their issue.

Therapeutic approaches to counselling have evolved over the last century as therapists’ attempt to help their clients’ resolve negative patterns of thoughts and emotions. Whilst fear and sadness are said to be naturally occurring human emotions that evolve and form part of ‘life and living’, society is becoming increasingly aware of the negative physiological implications of stress caused by changes in environmental conditions, and clients’ are encouraged to seek professional help before their emotions spiral out of control leading to anxiety and depression, and in some cases mental health concerns.

The father of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is Albert Ellis. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1913, New York became Dr. Ellis’ home since his family move there when he was four years old. Ellis struggled with health problems and physical ailments from childhood until his death in 2007. As a child, Ellis survived on his own as his parents were absent. His father was a traveling business person and his mother was emotionally absent (Albert Ellis Institute, 2012). The foundation of REBT developed when a youthful Ellis utilized a philosophy of viewing life to deal with his physical and family issues (Corey, 2013).