Principles of emotion change : what works and when in psychotherapy and everyday life / by Antonio Pascual-Leone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pascual-Leone, Antonio, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emotion-focused therapy.

Emotions.

Psychotherapy.

Emotion-Focused Therapy.

Medical Subjects:

Emotion-Focused Therapy.

Emotions.

Psychotherapy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 657 pages)

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, [2026]

Summary:

"This book is about the science of emotion change and how emotional processing happens in psychotherapy as well as in everyday life. When people talk about having successfully struggled through a personal difficulty, they often comment on some sort of emotional change. The book presents a unified theory of how a difficult emotional state comes to change. It explains (a) what the different kinds of emotional change are, (b) what the hypothesized mechanisms of those processes are, and (c) when each type of change is most applicable. The book summarizes and synthesizes existing research, sometimes offering new interpretations of previous findings. To illustrate practical implications, every chapter includes case examples from clinical practice. The book is both for academic researchers and for psychotherapists who want to better understand what they are doing, and what is happening within their client, as they sit together in a therapy session. It describes and organizes the existing empirical research into a general theory of emotional change. The book represents a coordination of existing theories that acknowledges their independent value but puts them in an integrated context, delineates the limits of their applicability, and resolves their contradictions. This is the first book of its kind, integrating findings and theories across treatment approaches to combine and delineate different forms of emotion change." --Preface (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Contents:

Introduction

A general theory of emotional change

I. Reduce intensity

Down-regulating emotional intensity

Avoidance, desensitization, and behavioral coping

II. Notice the feeling

Emotional awareness: From engagement to symbolization

Emotional engagement: Getting in touch with what's there

Labeling emotion: Finding just the right words

Deepening emotion through symbolization

III. Feel more, express more

Heightening arousal, vividness, expression, and enactments

Getting physical: Working from the outside in

Enactments: Working from the inside out

The proclamation of self: I felt it, I said it, I did it!

IV. Order the sequence of emotions

Sequential transformation: The pattern in emotion makes it change

Changing emotion with emotion: The process in action

Adult emotional development: Expanding one's repertoire

The sequential model: The only way out is through

Tracking sequences: The roller coaster to resolution

V. Put the feeling in context

Using context and narrative: The big picture

Psychological elaboration: Telling more of the story

We have relationship with our memories: Revising the metadata

Stepping out of the frame: "I am myself and my circumstances"

Life narrative and identity: The story itself is an agent of change

Storying the self: It's a matter of perspective

Existential meaning: Having purpose and making choices

VI. Conclusions: A new paradigm

The five principles of emotion change

References

Index

About the author.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association, 2026.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Other Format:

Print version: Principles of emotion change

ISBN:

1433840898

9781433840890

1433849917

9781433849916

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.