CEWE: Chapter 3: Changing Emotion with Emotion

Question 1

How does Greenberg propose emotion change occurs?

Explain in neurological terms

Answer 1

through a dialectical synthesis of opposing emotion schematic memories of past painful experience

sustained co-activation of more adaptive emotion along side maladaptive emotion to synthesize new emotional responses
- action tendancies of the adaptive and maladaptive emotion oppose each other, forcing a synthesis/transformation of experience

Question 2

How does changing emotion with emotion differ from exposure based approaches

Answer 2

Exposure is based on learning theory and the inhibition of the memory associated with the emotional response

Changing emotion with emotion is a transformational process where memories are changed rather than inhibited

Question 3

What is one of the most effective interventions to help clients access more adaptive emotional responses?

Answer 3

Asking the client what the feeling needs to feel better

e.g. “what does this deep feeling of hurt and distrust need?”

Question 4

Once a new adaptive feeling is accessed, what is the next step?

Answer 4

Facilitating the construction of new narratives

Question 5

Which emotions does Greenberg describe as the primary maladpative emotions that need change?

Answer 5

1. Fear of danger
2. Fear of separation
3. Shame of unworthiness
4. Sadness of lonely abandonment

Question 6

Which emotions does Greenberg describe as the primary adpative emotions for transformation?

Answer 6

1. Empowered anger
2. Sadness of grief
3. Compassion

Question 7

What always preceeds emotional transformation?

Answer 7

Emotional acceptance (need to feel it to heal it)

Question 8

Which emotion should be activated to change a maladaptive emotion

Answer 8

Depends on the specifics of the client, context, and the adaptive emotions that are available to them and capable of being evokes

Question 9

Describe the two productive therapy sequences that are paths to emotional change?

Answer 9

Depends on whether the emotion the client is experiencing is
1. Denial of an adaptive emotion
- step 1: move from secondary reactive to the primary adaptive emotion
- step 2: own, accept, and experience the adaptive emotion, symbolize it, and create new meaning

2. A core maladpative emotion
   - step 1: if they are in a secondary emotion, acknowledging and accpeting the secondary emotion (skipped if in primary already)
   - step 2: Accessing the primary maladaptive emotion beneth the secondary emotion. accepting and symbolizing
   - step 3: Access more adpative primary emotions

Question 10

Describe an unproductive therapy sequence

when does this type of sequence typically occur?

Answer 10

1. client experiencing secondary emotion (e.g., fear)
2. client access adaptive primary emotion (e.g., anger)
3. client interrupts their experience of the primary adaptive emotion with new secondary emotions (e.g., guilt over anger)

Occurs when the client is experiencing a conflict around experiencing a newly accessed primary adaptive emotion

Question 11

What are some methods for helping clients access new adaptive emotions?

Answer 11

1. Shifting attention to a subdominant emotion that is at the periphery of client awareness
2. Focusing on what is needed: ask clients what they need to resolve the pain of their maladaptive emotion
3. Use of enactments and imagery
4. Therapist naming the emotion for the client
5. corrective emotional experiences with the therapist

Question 12

How does focusing on needs active adaptive emotions?

Answer 12

see page 71