Chapter 5 - Emotion Regulation in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Bridging the Gap Between Treatment Studies and Laboratory Experiments

Abstract

When cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was first developed approximately 50 years ago, it revolutionized the field of clinical psychology and psychiatry. Since then, modern conceptualizations of psychopathology have increasingly emphasized the role of emotion dysregulation in the onset, maintenance, and exacerbation of psychological disorders. Thus, contemporary versions of CBT have begun to adopt an emotion regulation framework in treatment. Numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have provided considerable empirical support for these newer, emotion-focused interventions. Additionally, laboratory-based experimental studies have begun to examine the specific emotion regulation mechanisms underlying the effects of CBT. However, one barrier preventing the field from advancing further and improving our cognitive-behavioral treatments is the apparent chasm between treatment outcome studies and laboratory-based experimental studies. This is a noteworthy limitation given that these methodologies are complementary and have their greatest potential when used in combination with each other. In this chapter, we first review treatment outcome studies (i.e., RCTs) that test the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral interventions that highlight the importance of emotion regulation as a key principle of treatment. We then discuss the utility of laboratory-based experimental studies to identify emotion regulation mechanisms underlying treatment efficacy. Lastly, we call for the integration of these two approaches in order to enhance our understanding of psychopathology and further elucidate the role of emotion regulation in cognitive-behavioral approaches to treating psychological disorders.