An emotion-focused approach to the overregulation of emotion and emotionalpain

The importance of facilitating productive therapeutic processes to gain acc ess to overregulated primary adaptive emotional experience is discussed. In addition to describing common two- and three-step emotion sequences involv ed in change, this article presents the more complex sequences involved in facing emotional pain. Key aspects of facing pain are allowing the experien ce of "brokenness," or a "shattering" of the self, feeling the associated p ainful emotions, and processing them to completion. This promotes a transfo rmation in view of self, world, and other. A case example and some general principles of emotional change are given. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons.