Emotion and psychotherapy.

Abstract

Although cognitive-behavioral therapy has been criticized for not addressing the importance of emotion in psychotherapy, recent trends indicate a growing interest in this issue. So-called “Third Wave” approaches suggest that “cognitive” processes are often of little importance. In this article, I describe how learning theory, models of emotional processing, exposure treatments, criticisms of “extinction,” and even emotion-based approaches rely on cognitive and representational constructs. An attempt is made to integrate emotion and cognition in emotional schema therapy.