Compassion Focused Therapy: Emotion Regulation and Working with Difficult Emotions

Overview

Emotions bring purpose, pleasure and meaning to our lives. However, for many people, they are synonymous with distress, pain and suffering. Anger and rage can wreck relationships and cause problems at work; anxiety can prevent us from socialising or engaging in things we would like to; sadness can feel overwhelming and never ending.

These types of difficulties are often referred to as emotion regulation problems, and can prevent us from developing stable and happy relationships, communicating our needs, and flourishing.In this workshop we will explore how CFT can be a powerful approach to helping clients work with emotions they find difficult and distressing in life.

It will explore ideas about what emotions are, how and why we struggle with them, and how developing a Compassionate Mind can provide the basis for helpful emotion regulation. Participants will also be introduced to an emotion regulation model designed to help therapists and clients to identify common difficulties with emotion regulation, and a variety of skills that may bring helpful change.

Teaching methods:

Didactic teaching
Group discussion
Experiential practice
Role play
This workshop would be suitable for therapists who have an interest in, or are currently working with people with emotion regulation difficulties. It would be helpful if attendees have a working knowledge of the basic CFT model/approach.