The role of emotion with regard to human functioning and human well-being has been a topic of much consideration and debate throughout the ages. In both secular and Christian fields of study (e.g. philosophy, theology, biology, psychology, and psychotherapy) people have examined emotional experience from different vantage points. Since the second half of the 20th century renewed interest in the importance of affect in human life is especially notable in disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology, and psychotherapy. This is reflected, for example, in the development of a secular psychotherapeutic model that understands experiential engagement to be a crucial key to psychological change, namely Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT). There is no distinctive Christian counseling model that has as its main paradigm emotion experience. Yet, several Christian models exists in which experiencing emotions is considered to be important in the process of change. The thesis of this work is that the theologically and psychologically sophisticated Christian emotion-focused model of therapy suggested in this dissertation will correct and enhance existent Christian and secular emotion-focused models. Chapter 1 covers the thesis of the dissertation, reasons why the dissertation makes a helpful contribution to the field, background information, methodology, and delimitations. Chapter 2 presents theological reflections on the topic of emotion, especially as it pertains to topics such as the nature of emotions, emotional health and disorder, and emotional healing. Chapter 3 consists of an examination of secular Emotion-Focused Therapy. This chapter will discuss this model and assess what aspects can or cannot be used by a Christian Emotion-Focused approach. In chapter 4 three contemporary Christian models that use emotion experience in their counseling approach are described and evaluated. These are Theophostic Prayer Ministry developed by Smith, Inner Healing Prayer as defined by Tan, and the Elijah House model of the Sandfords. The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the field of Christian psychology by proposing the necessary elements of a comprehensive Christian Emotion-Focused model that is a corrective to existent models. Based on the research of the previous chapters, a preliminary outline of such a model is presented in chapter 5.

Currently, there is a limited understanding of change mechanisms across all treatment approaches for eating disorders (ED), particularly with regard to group psychotherapy. This presents one of the major obstacles in the development of more effective treatments. The purpose of this study was to extend current understanding of therapeutic processes in group psychotherapy for bulimic disorders. Thirty-one women were randomly assigned to either 16-weeks of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) or Motivation/Education and Skill Building (M/ESB) as part another study at a participating outpatient ED program. The goals of this study were to: (1) evaluate the relationship between in-session processes; (2) compare these processes between two group treatments; (3) examine in-session differences as a function of client activity in group EFT; (4) and identify a pathway to change. As expected, the findings demonstrated that mid therapy emotional arousal was associated with higher levels of insight, and an increase in insight overtime was associated with an increase in therapeutic alliance. Arousal was not positively correlated with alliance. There was a significant interaction between group treatment x time: clients in EFT reported gains in insight overtime, as measured by post-session change measure, whereas clients’ scores in M/ESB did not change over the course of psychotherapy. Alliance increased significantly over the course of therapy in both groups. Contrary to expectations, clients in the EFT group did not report higher levels of arousal compared to the M/ESB group. The limited sample size in the control group precludes firm conclusions about group comparisons. When examining client activity within EFT, the results demonstrated that clients that were actively engaged in the chair-tasks reported higher post-session change scores, arousal, and alliance compared to when they were in the observing role; however, there was a significant upward trend on post-session change scores regardless of the client role. The pathway to change was partially supported: the observer-rated degree of resolution scores predicted a third of variance in post-session change scores; controlling for pre-treatment outcome scores, post-session change scores predicted variance at the outcome on several EDI-3 subscales. These preliminary findings are discussed in the context of psychotherapy process literature, highlighting limitations and future directions.

Currently, there is a limited understanding of change mechanisms across all treatment approaches for eating disorders (ED), particularly with regard to group psychotherapy. This presents one of the major obstacles in the development of more effective treatments. The purpose of this study was to extend current understanding of therapeutic processes in group psychotherapy for bulimic disorders. Thirty-one women were randomly assigned to either 16-weeks of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) or Motivation/Education and Skill Building (M/ESB) as part another study at a participating outpatient ED program. The goals of this study were to: (1) evaluate the relationship between in-session processes; (2) compare these processes between two group treatments; (3) examine in-session differences as a function of client activity in group EFT; (4) and identify a pathway to change. As expected, the findings demonstrated that mid therapy emotional arousal was associated with higher levels of insight, and an increase in insight overtime was associated with an increase in therapeutic alliance. Arousal was not positively correlated with alliance. There was a significant interaction between group treatment x time: clients in EFT reported gains in insight overtime, as measured by post-session change measure, whereas clients’ scores in M/ESB did not change over the course of psychotherapy. Alliance increased significantly over the course of therapy in both groups. Contrary to expectations, clients in the EFT group did not report higher levels of arousal compared to the M/ESB group. The limited sample size in the control group precludes firm conclusions about group comparisons. When examining client activity within EFT, the results demonstrated that clients that were actively engaged in the chair-tasks reported higher post-session change scores, arousal, and alliance compared to when they were in the observing role; however, there was a significant upward trend on post-session change scores regardless of the client role. The pathway to change was partially supported: the observer-rated degree of resolution scores predicted a third of variance in post-session change scores; controlling for pre-treatment outcome scores, post-session change scores predicted variance at the outcome on several EDI-3 subscales. These preliminary findings are discussed in the context of psychotherapy process literature, highlighting limitations and future directions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: B, page: 4130. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-132).

Stressors resulting from one's work life including work conditions, job characteristics, and relationships with others at work have been shown to impact employee health outcomes at both psychological and physical levels (Le Blanc, Jonge, & Schaufeli, 2008; Spector, Dwyer, & Jex, 1988). Interpersonal conflict is one prevalent workplace stressor that has been associated with poor work-related outcomes and psychological states. A cross-sectional design with multi-source data collection methods was used to measure conflict, perceptions of control, coping strategies, and both psychological and physical well-being. Overall, findings suggested that the success of coping efforts hinges on the combination of the nature of the stressor (conflict with supervisors vs. with a co-worker), perceptions of control over that stressor (high or low control), and coping strategy used (problem-focused or emotion-focused coping). This may explain at least to a certain extent why previous efforts to document the moderating effects of coping have been inconsistent, especially pertaining to emotion-focused coping.

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Terrorattentat orsakar ofta massförstörelse med civila offer, det sprider rädsla och leder till allvarliga konsekvenser för de som drabbas. För att hantera rädslan använder människor olika strategier. Syftet med studien var således att bidra till en nyanserad bild av människors rädsla för terrorattentat och hur de hanterar rädslan. Detta undersöktes genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer där frågorna baserades utifrån tre frågeställningar, “Hur beskriver människor sin rädsla för terrorattentat och vilka känslor beskrivs i relation till rädslan?”, “Varför upplever människor rädsla för terrorattentat?” och “Hur använder människor copingstrategier för att hantera rädslan för terrorattentat?” För att besvara dessa intervjuades tre kvinnor och tre män mellan åldrarna 21 och 29. Resultaten visade att rädslan dels innefattade indirekt och direkt utsatthet samt känslor som sårbarhet och ångest. Rädslan var också kopplad till särskilda platser och situationer. Vidare identifierades också att deltagarna använde sig av känslo- och problemfokuserad coping samt undvikande beteende för att hantera rädslan. Dessa resultat bekräftas i stort av tidigare forskning. / Terrorist attacks often causes mass destruction with civilian casualties, it spreads fear and leads to severe consequences for those who are victimized. To handle the fear, people use different strategies. The aim of this study was therefore to contribute to a nuanced depiction of people’s fear of terrorist attacks and how they handle the fear. This was examined through semi-structured interviews based on three issues; “How do people describe their fear of terrorist attacks and what emotions are described in relation to the fear?”, “Why do people experience fear of terrorist attacks?” and “Which coping strategies are being used to handle the fear of terrorist attacks?” To answer these, three women and three men between the ages 21 and 29 were interviewed. The results showed that fear partially included indirect and direct victimization as well as vulnerability and anxiety. Fear was also linked to specific places and situations. Furthermore, was also identified that the participants used emotion- and problem focused coping as well as avoidance behaviour to handle the fear. These results are mostly confirmed by previous research.

The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive study was to determine the association (if any) between the self-concept awareness and emotion- focused coping of children with ADHD. Theories informing this study were Barkley’s conceptualisation of ADHD, Bandura’s social cognitive theory as a means of understanding self-concept awareness and Gonzales and Seller’s theory of emotion- focused coping. The study was conducted by means of an intervention research design. I purposively selected two children with ADHD and their respective parents, educators and therapists to participate in the study. Ebersöhn’s intrapersonal regulation intervention was implemented with the child participants at different intervals. Both child participant’s self-concept awareness and emotion- focused coping strategies were assessed pre- and post intervention, through the use of formal interviews and observations. The data was analysed and interpreted through thematic analysis. The following themes emerged; self-concept awareness, adaptive emotion-focused- coping strategies and maladaptive emotion- focused coping strategies. Findings of the study confirmed that prior to the intervention, the two child participants were predisposed towards emotion- focused coping, especially maladaptive emotion- focused coping strategies. Post- intervention findings suggested that increased self-concept awareness resulted in the use of two adaptive emotion- focused coping strategies (namely relaxation methods and re-appraisal) with maladaptive emotion- focused coping (namely direct- active physical aggression and direct-passive aggression) remaining. Thus, an association exists between self-concept awareness and emotion- focused coping in children with ADHD. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

In March 2020, New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Waves of illness, uncertainty, isolation, disruption, and loss led to increased rates of emotional distress. To extend access to evidence-based mental health services, we initiated an open trial of emotion regulation therapy in the context of the pandemic (ERT-P), delivered via telehealth and “blended” with an internet and mobile intervention (IMI) to augment treatment (e.g., video modules, between-session exercises, mindful regulation practices). ERT-P is a brief, 9-session psychotherapy program that integrates principles from traditional and contemporary cognitive behavioral therapies and mindfulness-based interventions to well-sui motivational and regulatory mechanisms associated with distress. The current study sought to evaluate the efficacy of ERT-P, investigate the impact of COVID-19 severity on treatment response, and explore whether sociodemographic, clinical, and contextual patient characteristics predict differential patterns of treatment response. Patients (N =134) were distressed, treatment-seeking adults in New York State. At pre- and posttreatment, as well as 3-month and 9-month follow-ups, patients completed assessments of perseverative negative thinking (PNT; worry, rumination), symptoms of emotional distress, and indices of quality of life. Patients exhibited statistically significant, large-magnitude reductions in all outcomes of interest at posttreatment (ds 1.53 – 2.74), which were maintained during the follow-up period (ds 0.75 – 1.33). Those who enrolled in treatment when the pandemic was most severe (i.e., highest seven-day averages of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths) demonstrated greater improvement in PNT at posttreatment compared to those who enrolled earlier and later, irrespective of vaccine availability. Longer-term trajectories of improvement were not impacted by enrollment date and COVID-19 severity. Exploring predictors of reliable improvement identified a mix of sociodemographic, clinical, and contextual characteristics associated with acute treatment response. Notably, parenthood was consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of reliable improvement in worry, rumination, and distress. Despite the study’s open trial design, which precludes causal attributions, ERT-P demonstrated preliminary efficacy. Further, ERT-P was found to be feasible and acceptable, evidenced by high patient satisfaction ratings, perceived usability of the IMI platform, and low attrition rates (10.5%). The current trial succeeded in its clinical objective to rapidly mobilize and extend access to evidence-based mental health services to a diverse group of distressed adults amidst the evolving landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.