Case formulation in emotion-focused therapy

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) is a neohumanistic experiential approach to therapy reformulated in terms of modern emotion theory and affective neuroscience. This model is informed by humanistic–phenomenological theory, emotion and cognition theory, affective neuroscience, and dynamic systems and family systems theory. EFT focuses on moment-by-moment awareness, regulation, expression, transformation, and reflection on emotion in the practice of therapy with the goal of strengthening the self and creating new meaning. The EFT approach to case formulation is very much embedded within the humanistic tradition, specifically client-centered and Gestalt therapy. EFT case formulation information is organized along a number of dimensions, including a style of emotional processing, narrative themes related to attachment and identity issues and history, painful emotion, problematic or maladaptive emotion schemes, and the markers and accompanying tasks that might be undertaken to address those problematic schemes. Themes emerge and are born out of the therapeutic process after diagnosis of the nature of the emotional processing style and difficulties. The EFT case formulation process is divided into three stages and 14 steps. The chapter explains and illustrates the steps and stages of EFT case formulation through application to the case of a 45-year-old woman, who had 11 sessions of EFT.