The role of corrective emotional experiences in the counsellor-client attachment: a model for processing emotions in therapy

ABSTRACT

Even though emotions are central in many counselling modalities, how best to work with emotions has not often been clearly articulated or practically presented for counsellors. In this paper I outline a brief history of the science of emotion, highlighting the role of emotional regulation in the counsellor-client attachment and present a five-step model of working with emotions in therapy, adapted from the work of Canadian developmental psychologist, Gordon Neufeld. The paper provides a theoretical and practical framework for understanding the crucial importance of a corrective emotional experience for client healing.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotion regulation
• attachment
• neuroscience of emotion
• therapy
• counselling

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Ruth Lawson-McConnell is Senior Lecturer in Counselling in the School of Social Practice at Laidlaw College, New Zealand, and has a private practice. She did her MA in Psychology at Aberdeen University, Scotland, followed by her PhD in Counselling Psychology from Robert Gordon University, Scotland. Over the past 26 years, Ruth has worked as a counsellor in Scotland, Canada and New Zealand. Her areas of research include: attachment-based psychotherapy, counselling children of divorce, research methods in counselling, culturally-sensitive counselling, and the neuroscience of therapeutic relationships.

Notes

1 Care has been taken to hide any identifying information of the client, and written consent to include her in this publication has been obtained.