Abstract
AbstractThe goal of this paper is to show (i) how the moment‐to‐moment tracking and processing of emotion to completion—in an emotionally engaged patient–therapist dyad where the individual feels safe and known—constitutes a powerful mechanism of therapeutic transformation, and (ii) how positive emotions are sensitive affective markers of that transformational process. Evidence from transformational studies is used to elaborate the vital role of positive emotions in the process of change in general, and, more specifically, in the course of therapeutic work with painful and overwhelming emotional experience. It is proposed that these emergent positive emotions are affective markers which signal the operation of healing transformational processes in psychotherapy. Several types of positive emotion that arise spontaneously during moment‐to‐moment experiential therapeutic work will be described and their role as markers of different transformational processes will be elucidated. The paper begins with examples of clinical work with emotion in AEDP (Accelerated Experiential–Dynamic Psychotherapy), an emotion‐focused and attachment‐based model of therapy that places the dyadic regulation of affect at the centre of both theory and practice. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Highlights
The goal of this paper is to show, through example and argument, how the moment-to-moment tracking and processing of emotion to completion --in an emotionally engaged patient-therapist dyad where the individual feels safe and known-- constitutes a powerful mechanism of therapeutic transformation, and how positive emotions are sensitive affective markers of that transformational process
I begin with two clinical examples of work with emotion in AEDP (Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy), an emotion- and attachment-centered model that integrates experiential and psychodynamic elements (Fosha, 2000b; 2001; 2002a; 2003)
As we focus on his experience of “I did the right thing,” he feels a great deal of pride for how he conducted himself
Summary
There is a groundswell of interest in positive emotions and a growing awareness of their importance in promoting psychological health and well being. Positive emotions have been the focus of popular books (Dalai Lama & Cutler, 1998), of popular psychology (Seligman, 2002), of well-designed, rigorous psychological studies (see Seligman, 2002 for references), of works on attachment, brain development and nonlinear dynamic systems (Granic, 2000; Schore, 1996, 2000; Siegel, 2003), and of the most rigorous realms of experimental affective neuroscience (Davidson, 2000; Panksepp, 2000). A major focus throughout will be the importance of the moment-to-moment tracking and working through of emotional experiences to completion, so that the state transformation heralded by the positive emotions can be actualized and the most can be made of the therapeutic opportunities residing within the new emergent state
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