PSYCLN 727 Emotion-Focused Psychotherapy

This course will introduce emotion-focused psychotherapy theory and skills to students. This empirically validated approach falls under the rubric of Humanistic Psychotherapy. It stems from client-centered and gestalt philosophies and theories of development. The mechanism of change in this approach to therapy lies within the re-structuring of clients’ emotional schemes and relational patterns. Close attention is paid to the negotiation of the therapeutic alliance, particularly in relation to self-interruptive or defensive moments when clients back away from important or threatening issues. It teaches specific interventions such as focusing, gestalt chairwork, evocative unfolding, and problematic reaction point exercises. The weekly format of the course will entail one hour of lecture and two hours of supervised exercises and discussion. The course will relate the application of this psychotherapy to both individual adult and couples treatment.

Prerequisite(s): PSYCLN PHD Students Only

3 Credit(s)