Emotion-Focused Therapy for Depression

In Emotion-Focused Therapy for Depression, Dr. Leslie S. Greenberg demonstrates his unique approach to treating depression. Emotion-focused therapy centers on helping the client to express emotions more easily and thus release unprocessed feelings and thoughts so that they may be dealt with openly. In the case of depression, having "feelings turned outward" can undo the disorder by giving access to previously untapped resilience in the client.

In this session, Dr. Greenberg works with a young single mother who, because of her habit of self-criticism and perfectionism, is beginning to show signs of serious depression. Dr. Greenberg helps the client to release her emotions about her need for perfection as well as her unvoiced feelings about her overly critical mother. This two-session tape is a powerful example of emotion-focused therapy featuring insightful discussions with Dr. Greenberg.

In Emotion-Focused Therapy for Depression, Dr. Greenberg demonstrates an exciting new approach to helping clients live in harmony with their emotions. Rather than desiring to control or avoid emotions, clients can learn that emotions tell us what is important in a situation and act as guides to what we need or want. Watch actual clients experience emotions as they arise in the safety of the therapy session and discover the value of greater awareness and more flexible management of emotions, with the goal of attaining emotional wisdom.

Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD, is professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the director of the York University Psychotherapy Research Clinic. Dr. Greenberg is a founding member of the Society of the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration and a past president of the Society for Psychotherapy Research.

Dr. Greenberg has coauthored major texts on emotion-focused approaches to treatment of individuals and couples. His most recent book is Emotion-Focused Therapy (2001). He recently coedited Empathy Reconsidered (1997) and the Handbook of Experiential Psychotherapy. He is on the editorial board of a number of psychotherapy journals, including the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration and the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

• Bohart, A. C., & Greenberg, L. S. (Eds.). (1997). Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Elliott, R., Watson, J. C., Goldman, R. N., & Greenberg, L. S. (2004) Learning emotion-focused therapy: The process-experiential approach to change. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Greenberg, L. S. (2002). Emotion-focused therapy: Coaching clients to work through their feelings. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Greenberg, L. S., & Pinsof, W. (Eds.). (1986). Psychotherapeutic process: A research handbook. New York: Guilford Press.
• Greenberg, L. S., & Watson, J. C. (1998). Experiential therapy of depression: Differential effects of client-centered relationship conditions and process experiential interventions. Psychotherapy Research,8 (2), 210–224.
• Greenberg, L. S. & Watson, J. C. (2005). Emotion-focused therapy for depression. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Greenberg, L. S., & Webster, M. (1982). Resolving decisional conflict: Relating process to outcome. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 29, 478–477.
• Horvath, A., & Greenberg, L. S. (1989). The working alliance inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36, 223–233.
• Johnson, S., & Greenberg, L. S. (1985). Differential effects of experiential and problem-solving interventions in resolving marital conflict. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 175–184.

APA Videos

• Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) With a Male Client
  Diana Fosha
• Affect-Focused Dynamic Psychotherapy
  Leigh McCullough
• Cognitive–Affective Behavior Therapy
  Marvin R. Goldfried
• Couple Therapy for Depression
  Mark A. Whisman
• Depression
  Michael D. Yapko
• Dream Work in Practice
  Clara E. Hill
• Emotion-Focused Therapy in Practice: Working With Grief and Abandonment
  Jeanne C. Watson
• Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy for Clients Dealing With Infidelity
  Sue Johnson
• Experiential Psychotherapy
  Alvin R. Mahrer
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression
  Zindel V. Segal
• Narrative Therapy
  Lynne Angus
• Problem-Solving Therapy
  Arthur M. Nezu and Christine Maguth Nezu
• Three Approaches to Psychotherapy With a Female Client: The Next Generation
  Judith S. Beck, Leslie S. Greenberg, and Nancy McWilliams
• Three Approaches to Psychotherapy With a Male Client: The Next Generation
  Judith S. Beck, Leslie S. Greenberg, and Nancy McWilliams

APA Books

• Emotion-Focused Therapy for Depression
  Leslie S. Greenberg and Jeanne C. Watson
• Learning Emotion-Focused Therapy: The Process-Experiential Approach to Change
  Robert Elliott, Jeanne C. Watson, Rhonda N. Goldman, and Leslie S. Greenberg