Affective change processes in therapy for PTSD stemming from childhood abuse

This article presents an integrative, affectively focused therapy for the e ffects of childhood abuse. Emotion-focused therapy for adult survivors (EFT -AS) is an empirically supported, brief bur comprehensive treatment that ad dresses symptomatology, and interpersonal and self-related disturbances. EF T-AS integrates the principles of exposure with construction of new meaning , and emphasizes both the role of adaptive emotion and the therapeutic rela tionship in psychotherapeutic change. The three posited mechanisms of chang e are: (I) accessing and modifying maladaptive emotional meaning related to experiences of fear/anxiety and shame; (2) accessing previously inhibited adaptive emotion, such as anger and sadness, so that adaptive information c an be integrated into current meaning systems; and (3) provision of a corre ctive interpersonal experience with the therapist. Data and descriptive mat erial from a case of EFT-AS for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemm ing from child physical abuse illustrate the structure of therapy, interven tion principles, and mechanisms and indices of change.