Emotion-Focused Therapy: A Clinical Synthesis

Abstract

A summary of an emotion-focused approach to therapy (EFT) and its research base is presented. In this view, emotion is seen as foundational in the construction of the self and is a key determinant of self-organization. People, as well as simply having emotion, also live in a constant process of making sense of their emotions. In EFT, distinctions between different types of emotion provide therapists with a map for differential intervention. Six major empirically supported principles of emotion processing guide therapist interventions and serve as the goals of treatment. A case example illustrates how the principles of EFT helped a patient overcome her core maladaptive shame and basic insecurity in a relatively brief treatment of depression.