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Activating the corrective emotional experience
Author(s) -
Bridges Michael R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.20248
Subject(s) - psychology , session (web analytics) , arousal , psychotherapist , emotional expression , emotional regulation , expression (computer science) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , world wide web , computer science , programming language
Since the concept of the corrective emotional experience was first introduced, an impressive body of research has supported the contention that patient in‐session processing of painful emotional conflicts within a safe and empathic relationship is necessary for therapeutic change. In this article, I summarize what we know about how emotions can be accessed, expressed, and processed within the therapeutic relationship to bring about a corrective emotional experience. I then provide clinical vignettes and data on three patients, all of whom displayed distinct patterns of arousal, experience, expression, and depth of processing that were differentially related to outcome in short‐term emotion‐focused therapy. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 62: 551–568, 2006.