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Elliott EFT For Tribes2 CH 5 Screen PDF
Elliott EFT For Tribes2 CH 5 Screen PDF
5
emotion-focused robert
therapy elliott
Emotion-focused therapy (EFT), also known as process-experiential Greenberg, LS, Rice, LN & Elliott, R
therapy, integrates active therapeutic methods from gestalt and other (1993) Facilitating Emotional Change:
humanistic therapies within the frame of a person-centred The moment-by-moment process. New
relationship (Greenberg, Rice & Elliott, 1993; Elliott, Watson, York: Guilford Press.
Goldman & Greenberg, 2004). In essence, EFT benefits from the Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN
creative tension between the person-centred emphasis on creating a & Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning
genuinely empathic and prizing therapeutic relationship (Rogers, Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process-
1961) and the active, task-focused process-guiding style of gestalt experiential approach to change.
therapy (Perls, 1969) and focusing (Gendlin, 1981), among others. Washington, DC: American
In addition, EFT updates these experiential, process-oriented Psychological Association.
therapies by incorporating contemporary emotion theory and Rogers, CR (1961) On Becoming
affective neuroscience, dialectical constructivism (to be described a Person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
later), and contemporary attachment theory. In this chapter, I review Perls, FS (1969) Gestalt Therapy
the current status of EFT, summarising its history, theory, practice, Verbatim. Moab, UT: Real People Press.
and outcome evidence. Gendlin, ET (1981) Focusing (2nd edn).
New York: Bantam Books. This book is
A brief history of emotion-focused therapy within the currently available in the ‘25th
person-centred and experiential approaches Anniversary edition’, published in 2003
by Rider Books.
The tribes of the person-centred and experiential (PCE) therapies
nation began to divide themselves in the late 1950s when Rogers
and Gendlin began to look more closely at the client side of the Walker, AM, Rablen, RA, & Rogers,
famous ‘process equation’. This shift in attention from therapist CR (1960) Development of a scale to
measure process changes in
facilitating conditions to in-depth study of the client’s process led
psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical
first to the Walker-Rablen-Rogers Process Scale (1960),
Psychology, 16, 79-85.
subsequently to the Client Experiencing Scale (Klein, Mathieu-
Coughlan & Kiesler, 1986), and eventually to the practice of Klein, MH, Mathieu-Coughlan, P &
Kiesler, DJ (1986) The Experiencing
focusing (Gendlin, 1981). This phase of the development of the
Scales. In L Greenberg & W Pinsof (eds)
PCE approach came to be called ‘experiential’ and resulted in a
The Psychotherapeutic Process (pp 21-71).
separation from those therapists who continued to put the primary New York: Guilford Press.
emphasis on the therapist relational conditions of accurate empathy, Note
unconditional positive regard, and genuineness. Originally referred The Experiencing Scale and supporting
to as ‘non-directive’ and then as ‘client-centred’, this relational materials can be found at:
branch later became known as the ‘person-centred approach’ as it <www.experiential-researchers.org/
broadened beyond individual therapy to include encounter groups, instruments/exp_scale/exp_scale_
large groupwork, and, in Rogers’ final years, peace-making main.html>
(Kirschenbaum, 2007). Kirschenbaum, H (2007) The Life and
Laura Rice had been a student of Rogers in the 1950s; after Work of Carl Rogers. Ross-on-Wye:
Rogers left Chicago she stayed on at the Counseling Center, which PCCS Books.
104 the tribes of the person-centred nation
she directed for a time. While there, she and Wexler continued the
focus on client process, emphasising client information processing
Wexler, DA & Rice, LN (1974) and drawing on early cognitive science (Wexler & Rice, 1974). In
Innovations in Client-Centered Therapy. the late 1960s and early 1970s she carried out a series of studies
New York: Wiley. broadening the investigation of client processes to examine client
stylistic variables like expressiveness and vocal quality, as well as
beginning to look at the evocative function of the therapist, through
the use of metaphor and vocal expressiveness.
In the meantime, beginning around 1970 and in collaboration
with her student Leslie Greenberg, Rice had adapted the method
of task analysis from cognitive science knowledge elicitation
methods developed to study ‘expert systems’ in order to study
how clients use therapy to solve their personal, cognitive-affective
Bohart, AC & Tallman, K (1999) How problems, foreshadowing later work by Bohart and Tallman (1999)
Clients Make Therapy Work: The process of on the client as the active agent in therapy. Using recordings from
active self-healing. Washington, DC: the Chicago Counseling Center, Rice first studied how clients use
American Psychological Association. a process of careful re-experiencing to resolve the task of making
sense out of a puzzling personal overreaction. This became the
first EFT task to be mapped: evocative unfolding for a problematic
Rice, LN & Saperia, EP (1984) Task reaction point (Rice & Saperia, 1984).
analysis and the resolution of In parallel, as proof of concept for therapeutic task analysis,
problematic reactions. In LN Rice & LS Greenberg agreed to study gestalt therapy to see what client tasks
Greenberg (eds) Patterns of Change (pp could be identified and studied there (Greenberg, 1977). He
29-66). New York: Guilford Press. identified the task of resolving internal conflicts using the gestalt
Greenberg, LS (1977) A task analytic therapy technique of two-chair work, in which the client enacted
approach to the events of psychotherapy. the two conflicting aspects of self, usually a critic (‘topdog’) and
(Dissertation, York University.) a part that was being criticised or pressured to do something
Dissertation Abstracts International, 37B, (‘underdog’): two-chair work for conflict splits. In the late 1970s
4647. (Available from National Library and early 1980s Rice and Greenberg carried out a series of studies
of Canada, Ottawa K1A 0N4; order no.
on these two tasks; eventually, this research was written up in
26,630.)
their chapters in Patterns of Change (1984).
Rice, LN & Greenberg, L (1984) (eds) In 1985 I joined them to develop an experiential therapy for
Patterns of Change. New York: Guilford
depression that integrated unfolding and two-chair work within a
Press.
fundamentally person-centred relationship. To their experience
with person-centred therapy and gestalt therapies, I brought my
background as a therapy micro-process researcher studying
therapist response modes and client in-session experiences, along
Gendlin, ET (1981) Focusing (2nd edn). with my interest in Gendlin’s (1981) focusing method. The first
New York: Bantam Books. This book is thing we did was to develop the set of six therapeutic principles
currently available in the ‘25th that are the basis of EFT today; these provided the starting point
Anniversary edition’, published in 2003 for everything else (see Table 1 for their current wording). Then,
by Rider Books. as I applied the approach to a population of clinically depressed
clients, we began to develop and integrate models of additional
tasks: empty-chair work for unfinished business, two-chair
enactment for self-interruption, experiential focusing for an unclear
robert elliott emotion-focused therapy 105
Table 1
Basic Principles of Emotion-Focused Therapy Adapted from Elliott, Watson, Goldman & Greenberg (2004)
felt sense, and empathic affirmation for vulnerability. We named Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN
it the process-experiential (PE) approach, to distinguish it from & Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning
Gendlin’s (1973) and Mahrer’s (1983) versions of experiential Emotion-Focused Therapy. Washington,
therapy and because the therapy is process-oriented (Greenberg DC: APA.
et al., 1993). Gendlin, ET (1973) Experiential
In its early years, the process-experiential approach was psychotherapy. In RJ Corsini (ed)
controversial and its place among the tribes of the PCE nation Current Psychotherapies (2nd edn, pp
was questioned by some. For example, John Shlien (personal 317-52). Itasca, IL: Peacock.
communication, July 1994) once told me that he thought it would Mahrer, AR (1983) Experiential
be better for the person-centred approach ‘to die a noble death’ Psychotherapy: Basic practices. New York:
than to come under the influence of ‘people like you’. Even more Brunner/Mazel.
than focusing, the process-experiential approach was the object Greenberg, LS, Rice, LN, & Elliott, R
of suspicion among classical non-directive therapists such as (1993) Facilitating Emotional Change:
Brodley (1990), who felt that proposing things like two-chair work The moment-by-moment process. New
for conflict splits violated the client’s autonomy and the principle York: Guilford Press.
of unconditional positive regard. As process-experiential therapy Brodley, BT (1990) Client-centered and
proponents, we argued that the traditional person-centred experiential: Two different therapies. In G
facilitative conditions were necessary and might be sufficient, but Lietaer, J Rombauts, & R Van Balen (eds)
were not ‘efficient’, an argument that we thought was clever but Client-Centered and Experiential
which was not received particularly well by many at the time. Psychotherapy in the Nineties (pp 87-107).
Over the years, after its original somewhat shaky emergence in Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University
the PCE world, the PE approach has evolved: first, it changed its Press. Reprinted in Moon, KA, Witty, M,
name, or rather added the name that is more commonly used today: Grant, B & Rice, B (2011) (eds)
emotion-focused therapy. In the late 1980s Les Greenberg and Practicing Client-Centered Therapy:
Suzanne Johnson (1988) had developed an approach to working Selected writings of Barbara Temaner
with couples that integrated experiential and systemic therapy. They Brodley. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.
named this approach ‘emotionally focused therapy for couples’ in Greenberg, LS & Johnson, SM (1988)
order to distinguish it from the behavioural marital therapy popular Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples.
at the time. Process-experiential therapy had always had a major New York: GuilfordPress.
focus on emotion and made use of important emerging work on
106 the tribes of the person-centred nation
Greenberg, LS & Safran, JD (1987) human emotions (Greenberg & Safran, 1987). Thus, over the course
Emotion in Psychotherapy. New York: of the 1990s and early 2000s, it began to make sense to adopt the
Guilford Press. broader term ‘emotion-focused therapy’. For one thing, by this time
Greenberg, LS (2004) Being and doing: we had been able to elaborate the therapy’s underlying emotion
Person-centeredness, process guidance theory to the point where it provided a rich guiding account of
and differential treatment. Person- psychological function, dysfunction and change, culminating in the
Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, articulation of a set of principles of emotional change (Greenberg,
3, 52-64. 2004) and models of the emotional deepening process (Elliott et al.,
Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN, 2004; Pascual-Leone & Greenberg, 2007). These emotion change
& Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning principles and unifying models ran across the different therapeutic
Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process- tasks (e.g., systematic evocative unfolding for problematic reactions,
experiential approach to change. two-chair work for conflict splits, empty-chair work for unfinished
Washington, DC: American business) and offered an elegant integration of the many tasks and
Psychological Association.
subprocesses. In addition, it became clear that ‘emotion-focused
Pascual-Leone, A & Greenberg, LS therapy’ was a more comprehensible and broadly intuitively
(2007) Emotional processing in appealing term than ‘process-experiential’.
experiential therapy: Why ‘the only way
out is through’. Journal of Consulting &
Clinical Psychology, 75, 875-87. Distinctive features of emotion-focused therapy
Note
What are the distinguishing features of emotion-focused therapy
Of course, the term ‘emotion-focused
therapy’ at the same time obscured our roots as it has developed today? A useful place to start an explication of
and situatedness within the person-centred EFT is by laying out six of its defining characteristics (Elliott et
and experiential therapy tradition and did al., 2004):
nothing to allay the fears of folks like Shlien, 1. EFT is a neo-humanistic therapy: It is a based on a set of key
who had been inclined to distrust our values, deriving from the tradition of humanistic psychology
intentions from the beginning. However, but is reinterpreted in light of contemporary emotion theory,
we took these criticisms as challenges, and attachment theory, and dialectical constructivism (see pp. 112–
during this time period there was a parallel 13). These values include:
development of articulations of the PE/EFT
formulations of relational and interpersonal a. Experiencing: Immediate experiencing is the basis of
processes of empathic exploration generally human thought, feeling and action.
and the tension or dance in EFT between b. Agency/Self-determination: Human beings are funda-
relational and task processes, between ‘being’ mentally free to choose what to do and how to construct
and ‘doing’. their worlds.
Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN, c. Wholeness: People are greater than the sum of their parts,
& Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning and cannot be understood by attending only to single
Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process- aspects.
experiential approach to change. d. Pluralism/Equality: Differences within and between people
Washington, DC: American
should be recognised, tolerated and even prized.
Psychological Association.
e. Presence/Authenticity: People function best and are best
helped through authentic, person-to-person relationships.
f. Growth: People have a natural tendency toward
psychological growth and development that continues
throughout the life span.
robert elliott emotion-focused therapy 107
Leijssen, M (1996) Characteristics of a As Leijssen (1996) has shown, the therapeutic implication of this
healing inner relationship. In R Hutterer, framework is that optimal emotional processing involves all of
G Pawlowsky, PF Schmid & R Stipsits these schematic elements. Particular difficulties occur when the
(eds) Client-Centered and Experiential person neglects one or more types of elements. In addition,
Psychotherapy: A paradigm in motion (pp difficulties in emotion processing can also occur when emotion
427-38). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. schemes are activated in the wrong situations. In EFT, the therapist
helps clients reflect on, understand, and re-evaluate their emotion
schemes, through careful empathic listening and evocative or
expressive work.
Emotion response types. However, not all emotional expression
Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN, is the same, and so different kinds of emotion response require
& Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning differential therapist responses (Elliott et al., 2004). Assessing these
Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process- different emotion processes requires close empathic attunement
experiential approach to change. to the nuances of the client’s expression and to the perceived
Washington, DC: American situation in which the emotion emerged. Four types of emotion
Psychological Association. response are distinguished in EFT:
robert elliott emotion-focused therapy 111
First, primary adaptive emotion responses are the ones most Note
likely to have helped our evolutionary ancestors deal usefully Here the word ‘primary’ simply means
with a given situation. They are thus our first, natural reactions ‘first’.
to the current situation that would help us take appropriate
action. For example, if a person is being violated by someone,
anger is an adaptive response, because it helps the person to
take assertive action to end the violation; fear signals immediate,
overwhelming danger that needs to be avoided or escaped;
sadness indicates loss and motivates the need for connection;
and so on. We have these forms of rapid, automatic responding
because they helped our ancestors to survive.
Second, maladaptive emotion responses are also initial, direct Note
reactions to situations; however, they involve overlearned Here, ‘maladaptive’ simply means the
responses, based on previous, often traumatic, experiences. response is no longer useful, because it
For example, a client with borderline processes may have doesn’t fit the current situation.
learned when she was growing up that offered caring was
usually followed by physical or sexual abuse. As a result, the
therapist’s empathy and caring are responded to with anger, as
a potential violation: The client’s angry response is
understandable and needs to be met with empathy and
compassion, but is not useful to the client in their immediate
situation.
Third, in secondary reactive emotion responses, the person reacts Note
to his or her initial primary adaptive or maladaptive emotional Here, ‘secondary’ simply means ‘second’ –
response, so that it is replaced with a secondary emotion. For a different emotion occurred first.
example, a client who encounters danger and begins to feel
fear may become angry with himself or herself for being afraid
or may become angry at the danger, even when angry behaviour
increases the danger.
Finally, instrumental emotion responses are strategic displays Note
of an emotion for their intended effect on others, such as getting Here, ‘instrumental’ means that the
them to pay attention to us, to go along with something we emotion is used like a tool or instrument.
want them to do for us, to approve of us, or perhaps most often
just not to disapprove of us. Common examples include
‘crocodile tears’ (instrumental sadness), ‘crying wolf’
(instrumental fear), and bullying (instrumental anger).
Greenberg, LS (2004) Being and doing:
Assessing these four types of emotion response requires close Person-centeredness, process guidance
empathic attunement to the nuances of the client’s expression of and differential treatment. Person-
the emotion and the perceived situation in which the emotion Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies,
emerged. In EFT each type of emotion response is worked with 3, 52-64.
differently (Greenberg, 2004; Greenberg & Paivio, 1997): that is, Greenberg, LS & Paivio, S (1997)
primary adaptive emotions are accessed and more fully allowed; Working with Emotions in Psychotherapy.
secondary reactive emotions require empathic exploration in order New York: Guilford Press.
112 the tribes of the person-centred nation
both the knower and the known, in which therapy changes both Greenberg, LS & Pascual-Leone, J
the client and the therapist, and in which the self is viewed as a (1997) Emotion in the creation of
process made up of various elements continuously interacting to personal meaning. In M Power & C
produce experience and action (Greenberg & Pascual Leone, Brewin (eds) The Transformation of
1997). The multiple interacting self-processes often take the form Meaning in Psychological Therapies (pp
of emotion schemes, which parallel related concepts such as 157-74). Chichester: John Wiley &
Sons.
‘configurations’ (Mearns & Thorne, 2007), or ‘voices’ (Stiles,
1999). For EFT, the ‘I’ is an agent self-aspect or self-narrating Mearns, D & Thorne, B (2007) Person-
voice that constructs a coherent story of the self by integrating Centred Counselling in Action (3rd edn).
different aspects of experience in a given situation; however, this London: Sage.
voice has no special status as an executive self. Of particular Stiles, WB (1999) Signs and voices in
importance for EFT are two sets of voices that can be referred to psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research, 9,
broadly as ‘internal’ and ‘external,’ or as ‘experiential’ and 1-21.
‘conceptual’ (Elliott & Greenberg, 1997). Elliott, R & Greenberg, LS (1997)
A dialectically constructive change process starts with clear Multiple voices in process-experiential
separation between the different self-processes, emotion schemes therapy: Dialogues between aspects of
or configurations, especially between the internal or experiential the self. Journal of Psychotherapy
Integration, 7, 225-39.
and the external or conceptual processes, some dominant or salient,
others implicit or unacknowledged. Next, the therapist helps the
client to bring the different aspects into direct contact with each
other so that discords and harmonies can be heard. By accessing
emerging or implicit inner aspects and helping these interact with
the more obvious aspects, an internal dialogue is created. If this
dialogue is successful, some form of newness will be generated,
in the form of new experiences and restructuring of existing
emotion schemes. This dialectic process can be seen most clearly
in EFT’s use of two-chair dialogue for conflict splits. However,
interaction between different aspects of the client runs through
most EFT tasks and provides a general change process (Elliott &
Greenberg, 1997). As is true for all dialectically constructive
processes, the precise nature of the new experiences and emotion
scheme changes is impossible to predict in advance, although it
should be understandable in retrospect (cf. Gendlin, 1996). Gendlin, GT (1996) Focusing-Oriented
Moreover, when successful, this process leads to change in both Psychotherapy: A manual of the
aspects or voices; that is, both assimilation and accommodation experiential method. New York: Guilford
will occur. Importantly, the therapist can only facilitate such a Press.
process, but cannot know or direct the specific nature of the change
that takes place as a result.
Table 2. Emotion-Focused Therapy Tasks: Markers, Interventions and End States (2011 version)
Task Marker Process End State
A. Empathy-Based Tasks
Problem-Relevant Experience Empathic Exploration Clear marker,
(e.g., interesting, troubling, or new meaning explicated
intense, puzzling)
Vulnerability (painful emotion Empathic Affirmation Self-affirmation (feels
related to self) understood, hopeful, stronger)
B. Relational Tasks
Beginning of Therapy Alliance Formation Productive working environment
Therapy Complaint or Alliance Dialogue (each Alliance repair (stronger
Withdrawal Difficulty explores own role in difficulty) therapeutic bond or investment
(questioning goals or tasks; in therapy; greater self-
persistent avoidance of understanding)
relationship or work)
C. Experiencing Tasks
Unclear Feeling Experiential Focusing Symbolization of felt sense;
(vague, external or abstract) sense of easing (feeling shift);
readiness to apply outside of
therapy (carrying forward)
Attentional Focus Difficulty Clearing a Space Therapeutic focus; ability
(e.g., confused, overwhelmed, to work productively with
blank) experiencing (working distance)
D. Reprocessing Tasks [Situational-Perceptual]
Difficult/Traumatic Experiences Trauma Retelling Relief, validation, restoration of
(narrative pressure to tell painful narrative gaps, understanding
life stories) of broader meaning
Problematic Reaction Point Systematic Evocative Unfolding New view of self in-the-world-
(puzzling over-reaction to functioning
specific situation)
Meaning Protest (life event Meaning Creation Work Revision of cherished belief
violates cherished belief)
E. Enactment Tasks [Action Tendency]
Self-Evaluative Split Two-Chair Dialogue Self-acceptance, integration
(self-criticism, tornness)
Self-Interruption Split Two-Chair Enactment Self-expression, empowerment
(blocked feelings, resignation)
Unfinished Business (lingering Empty-Chair Work Let go of resentments, unmet needs
bad feeling re: significant other) re: other; affirm self; understand
or hold other accountable
Stuck, Disregulated Anguish Compassionate Self-Soothing Emotional/bodily relief, self-
empowerment
robert elliott emotion-focused therapy 119
Relational tasks
These emphasise the relational strand of the PCE therapy tradition
and involve the development and repair of a safe working
relationship between client and therapist, in which change is
believed to emerge directly from a therapeutic relationship
characterised by empathic attunement, prizing, genuineness and
collaboration. These two tasks take priority over all others because
they make other kinds of work possible.
3. Alliance formation is the first task of therapy, working with
the client to establish mutual trust and a safe environment so Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN,
that clients can engage in experiencing and exploring more & Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning
painful experiences (Elliott et al., 2004). Alliance formation Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process-
unfolds through several successive stages, culminating with experiential approach to change.
the achievement of a productive working relationship. Washington, DC: American
In EFT the starting principle is ‘contact before contract’, Psychological Association.
120 the tribes of the person-centred nation
Experiencing tasks
Experiencing tasks are aimed at helping clients develop access to
and symbolise their emotionally tinged experiences. They include
clearing a space and experiential focusing, which derive from the
work of focusing-oriented therapists, including Gendlin (1996), Gendlin, GT (1996) Focusing-Oriented
Cornell (1996), and Leijssen (1996). Psychotherapy: A manual of the
5. Experiential focusing has been described by Gendlin (1981, experiential method. New York: Guilford
1996) and others as a general task for helping clients deepen Press.
their experiencing. For example, the client may be experiencing Cornell, AW (1996) The Focusing Guide’s
emotional distancing in the session, in the form of speaking in Manual. Berkeley, CA: Focusing Resources.
an intellectual or externalising manner, talking around in circles Leijssen, M (1996) Characteristics of a
without getting to what is important to him or her. When this healing inner relationship. In R Hutterer,
occurs, the therapist can gently interrupt the client, as in this G Pawlowsky, PF Schmid & R Stipsits
hypothetical but typical example: (eds) Client-Centered and Experiential
Psychotherapy: A paradigm in motion (pp
T1: I wonder, as you are talking, what are you experiencing? 427-38). Frankfurt am Main: Peter
C1: I’m not sure, I’m just going on [talking]. Lang.
T2: I wonder if we could try something here? (C: nods) Can Gendlin, ET (1981) Focusing (2nd edn).
you take a minute, maybe slow down … and see if you New York: Bantam Books. This book is
can look inside … Ask yourself, ‘what’s going on with currently available in the ‘25th
me right now?’ and see what comes to you. Anniversary edition’, published in 2003
by Rider Books.
As focusing progresses the client shifts to internal self-
exploration. Resolution involves developing an accurately
labelled felt sense, accompanied by an experienced sense of
easing or relief and a direction for carrying this ‘felt shift’ into
life outside the therapy session.
6. Clearing a space. If the client feels overwhelmed by multiple
worries or by strongly painful experiences (e.g., trauma
memories), the therapist can help the client by using the clearing
a space process from focusing (Gendlin, 1996). That is, the Gendlin, GT (1996) Focusing-Oriented
therapist helps the client mentally set aside each of his or her Psychotherapy: A manual of the
experiential method. New York: Guilford
problems, generating a safe, clear internal space. Here,
Press.
resolution involves the attainment and full appreciation of the
122 the tribes of the person-centred nation
Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN, 8. Systematic evocative unfolding is used for problematic reaction
& Greenberg, LS (2004) Learning points, or instances in which the client is puzzled by an
Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process- overreaction they had to a specific situation (Elliott et al., 2004;
experiential approach to change. Greenberg et al., 1993). This task is particularly relevant to
Washington, DC: American clients who experience sudden episodes of unwanted emotion,
Psychological Association. including post-traumatic flashbacks, panic or anxiety attacks,
Greenberg, LS, Rice, LN, & Elliott, R anger outbursts, impulsive acts, or episodes of strong emotion
(1993) Facilitating Emotional Change: dysregulation. Unfolding tasks resemble retelling tasks in that
The moment-by-moment process. New both involve helping the client elaborate narratives with
York: Guilford Press. immediacy and vividness, but unfoldings are driven by
robert elliott emotion-focused therapy 123
Note Resources
The York depression studies are
controversial: the results of the two studies Key books
had to be combined in order for the benefit Elliott, R, Watson, JC, Goldman, RN & Greenberg, LS (2004)
for EFT over PCT to show up; also they Learning Emotion-Focused Therapy: The process-experiential
can be criticised as having been influenced approach to change. Washington, DC: American Psychological
by researcher allegiance. On the other Association.
hand, the therapists were carefully trained Greenberg, LS & Watson, JC (2005) Emotion-Focused Therapy
and supervised in both PCT and EFT, and for Depression. Washington, DC: APA.
were also monitored for treatment Paivio, SC & Pascual-Leone, A (2010) Emotion-Focused Therapy
adherence, including empathy. for Complex Trauma. Washington, DC: APA.
Elliott, R (in press) Person-centered- Greenberg, LS, Rice, LN & Elliott, R (1993) Facilitating
experiential psychotherapy for anxiety Emotional Change: The moment-by-moment process. New
difficulties: Theory, research and York: Guilford Press.
practice. Person-Centered & Experiential Watson, J, Goldman, RN & Greenberg, LS (2007) Case Studies
Psychotherapies. in Emotion-Focused Therapy for Depression. Washington, DC:
Timulak, L, & McElvaney, J (July APA.
2012) Emotion-Focused Therapy for
Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Paper Videos
presented at conference of the World Emotion-Focused Therapy Over Time (Les Greenberg, 6 sessions,
Association for Person-Centered and with voice-over commentary. APA, 2008) <www.apa.org>
Experiential Psychotherapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy for Depression (Les Greenberg, 2
Counseling, Antwerp, Belgium. sessions; APA, 2006) <www.apa.org>
Websites
<www.iseft.org> [Website for International Society for Emotion-
Focused Therapy]
<www.process-experiential.org> [Learning EFT book website]
<www.emotionfocusedclinic.org> [Les Greenberg’s website]
<www.eft.ca> [Sue Johnson’s website]