September Membership Meeting Write-Up — Douglas Green, LMFT

Emotional Processing in Psychotherapy to Facilitate Emotional Change Based on Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) Approach

Presented by Ladan H. Safvati,
LMFT, ATR, Certified EFT-l Therapist

It Happened!

After two and a half years, SFV-CAMFT at last restarted in-person meetings. In this case, the September, 2022 chapter meeting was a hybrid of in-person and virtual attendees. As anyone could have predicted (and as far as I could tell, everyone did!) there were enormous difficulties in setting it up and a few technical glitches persisting through the meeting. Yet all in person were ecstatic at how well it went, while those at home felt safe and secure.

With all kudos to the chapter board and all those who worked their ids off to make this day successful, the event’s star was of course our speaker, chapter member Ladan Safvati, presenting on “Emotional Processing in Psychotherapy to Facilitate Emotional Change, based on Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) Approach.”

Beautifully, Safvati began by asking us all to take a moment and check in with our feelings. She then smiled, “I can tell you mine — I’m anxious! I haven’t seen you people in over two years!” But then added, “I am also very excited to present on the approach that I am very passionate about!”

She then described her own journey into discovering EFT, explaining that our clients usually come to us for emotional issues, but instead of attending to those emotions, most therapists focus on diagnosis and/or coping skills training. “But we want to see beyond the diagnosis and coping skills, to see the person; their shame, their fear, their sadness.” More pointedly, she argued that often logic doesn’t help deal with emotional issues. So, logic-based therapies (most commonly Cognitive-Behavioral work) are limited in such cases.

Emotion Focused Therapy, rising out of the Humanistic-Experiential models, led by Les Greenberg, Laura Rice, Robert Elliott, and Sue Johnson in couples, has its roots in person-centered, Gestalt and theory of emotions, and sees focusing on clients’ emotional processing as the most effective way of helping clients reach mental health. Based on the emotion theory, EFT argues that emotions are information; “like the lights on the dashboard of our car” they tell us what is important to us and what we need, and guide us toward action to meet our emotional needs. But our emotions are not always a good source of information. They can become problematic due to past traumas, when they are under-regulated or over-regulated, and when they are avoided or not processed properly.

Therefore, EFT has a way of accessing emotions, dividing them into categories of Primary, Secondary and Instrumental. Primary emotions are one’s initial emotional response in a situation, which can be Adaptive or Maladaptive. Adaptive Emotions include sadness at loss, anger at violation, and fear of danger; having evolved to help us survive. Maladaptive emotions are the old stuck emotions from past traumas and unmet childhood needs, such as shame of inadequacy, fear of not being safe and protected, or sadness of abandonment. Secondary emotions are those that cover Primary ones. Safvati compared, for example, the anger that covers up fear or shame, to a snail, with its very delicate inside being protected by its tough shell. Secondary emotions also include “having an emotion about an emotion,” for example, feeling ashamed of feeling afraid. Instrumental Emotions are emotions with interpersonal gain, such as “Crocodile Tears” to get attention.

She then discussed the concept of Emotion Schemes, the complex affective/cognitive networks we form based on our emotional experiences, for responding to situations. She illustrated this with the idea of how an adult who was criticized and shamed often as a child will develop “shame emotion scheme,” and in response to being asked, “Why did you buy this kind of napkin,” reads that as an accusatory shaming question and may respond with secondary anger to cover the shame.

While a cognitive approach works from Truth Appraisals (“What proof do I have that I am inadequate?”) an Emotion-Focused approach works from Value Appraisals (“Is this emotion good or bad for me? Does that support maintaining my personal identity and my relationships or not?”).

EFT argues that mental health problems are based on core painful emotions from unmet needs (often during childhood and adolescence years), and inadequate ways of dealing with emotions that signal unmet needs. EFT divides emotional needs into Attachment Needs (such as safety, security, love, and connection) and Identity Needs (to be recognized as worthy, valued and autonomous). The therapist’s job, then, is to look to discover the unmet needs that led to the client’s core painful emotions.

Safvati explained that most clients come in therapy with different sets of emotional pain. The EFT therapist follows the painful emotions by being present and empathically attuned to clients’ emotions, to assist them to be comfortable enough to allow themselves experience the old, stuck maladaptive emotions in session, become aware of them, accept, and regulate them. EFT therapists then help clients to talk FROM their emotional experience rather than talking ABOUT their emotions. In other words, EFT therapist assists clients to triumph over the fears of “I’m afraid if I start crying I’ll never stop,” or “If I let my anger out I will lose control”, or “My feelings will be so painful I won’t survive them,” so they can work towards transforming these maladaptive emotions.

Empathically attuned to clients’ emotional needs, the EFT therapist assists them to express their heartfelt unmet needs, which research has shown will help them access and experience their primary adaptive emotions including Assertive anger, self-compassion, and sadness of grief regarding the loss of childhood needs. These adaptive emotions will transform the maladaptive emotions by synthesis, meaning that whenever clients’ core painful shame or fear or sadness of abandonment gets activated, they will have faster access to adaptive feelings such as self-compassion, courage, and pride. This new self-organization will help clients be in touch with their current needs, goals and wishes and move towards fulfilling them.

Safvati then went into far greater detail on specific EFT techniques and interventions to help clients achieve emotional transformation, and took multiple questions from the audiences in person and online.

While technical snafus kept her from being able to show a number of videos of EFT in action, no one felt they hadn’t gotten their money’s worth, or enough food for thought. In fact, this fascinating and warm presentation – along with the experience of the group’s first post-pandemic meeting — created one overwhelming emotion in all there: Joy.

Douglas Green, MA, MFT, has a private practice in Woodland Hills and West Los Angeles, where he specializes in helping children and teens live lives they can be proud of. To find out more, you can contact Doug at 818.624.3637, or DouglasGreenMFT@gmail.com. He's also often at our chapter meetings, serving as the volunteer coordinator. His website is www.DouglasGreenMFT.com.