Comparing Models of Emotion in Therapy

Emotion is central to all forms of therapy, yet each has a distinct model for working with it.

In this program, guest experts Leslie S. Greenberg, Norka T. Malberg, and Michael A. Tompkins discuss the common as well as differentiating factors across their respective approaches to emotion in an effort to understand both why such different models developed and whether there is the potential for a shared model.

After examining video clips to compare and contrast the different approaches, the guest experts highlight common factors, such as the importance of emotional arousal and therapist awareness of emotion, as well as differences in areas such as the origin of emotion and how it is conceptualized.

This candid conversation is intended to spark further discussion and expand viewers' understanding of this therapeutically central phenomenon.

Leslie S. Greenberg, PhD, is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology at York University, Toronto, and director of the Emotion-Focused Therapy Clinic. He has authored many texts on emotion-focused approaches to treatment, including 17 books and more than 100 articles.

He has received the APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution to Applied Research, the Distinguished Research Career Award of the International Society for Psychotherapy Research, the Carl Rogers Award of the APA, the Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Profession and the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Award for Excellence in Professional Training.

Michael A. Tompkins, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, a founding partner of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a diplomate and founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

Dr. Tompkins specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders in adults, adolescents and children.

He is the author or coauthor of numerous articles and chapters on cognitive–behavior therapy and related topics, as well as four books, including My Anxious Mind: A Teen's Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic (with Katherine Martinez) (Magination Press, 2010), which is a Magination Press best seller and earned the 2011 Self-Help Seal of Merit from the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and his most recent book, OCD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (New Harbinger, 2012).

Dr. Tompkins serves on the advisory board of Magination Press, APA's children's press, and is a supervisor for the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. He has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on television (The Learning Channel, Arts & Entertainment) and radio (KQED, NPR).

Dr. Tompkins has presented widely on the topic of cognitive–behavior therapy.

Norka T. Malberg, PsyD, is a certified child and adolescent psychoanalyst trained at the Anna Freud Centre in London. She obtained her doctorate from University College London under the supervision of Dr. Peter Fonagy for her work on clinical applications of attachment theory, namely mentalization-based therapy.

She is currently in private practice in New Haven, Connecticut, where she is also in the clinical faculty at the Yale Child Study Center serving as faculty member, where she teaches and supervises at the Yale Medical School psychiatry residency program.

Dr. Malberg is co-editor of the Lines of Development Book Series by Karnac Books for which she co-edited the first book: The Anna Freud Tradition. She has maintained her collaboration with the Anna Freud Centre through the development and delivery of short courses training other mental health professionals on applying mentalization-based interventions to clinical populations across the developmental continuum and in a diversity of clinical and community settings.

She is currently a lecturer and a member of the New England Western Psychoanalytic Society's Continuing Education Division and is a member and clinical instructor of the Contemporary Freudian Society in New York City. She is past president of Section 2 (Children and Adolescents) of APA Division 39 (Psychoanalytic Psychology).

She is in the editorial board for the Psychoanalytic Study of the Child and the Journal of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. She is the co-editor of the Child and Adolescent Sections of the upcoming PDM-2 (Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual) edited by Guilford Press and co-author of the upcoming book by APA on mentalization-based therapy for children and parents.

She has authored numerous articles on topics relating to clinical applications of mentalization-based therapy, trauma, early childhood intervention and the interface of infant and adult mental health.

• Angus, L. E., & Greenberg L. S. (2011). Working with narrative in emotion-focused therapy: Changing stories, healing lives. Washington, D.C.: 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, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Geller, S. M., & Greenberg, L. S. (2012). Therapeutic presence: A mindful approach to effective therapy. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Goldman, R. N., & Greenberg, L. S. (2015). Case formulation in emotion-focused therapy: Co-creating clinical maps for change. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Greenberg, L. S. (2010). Emotion-focused therapy: Theory and practice. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Greenberg, L. S. & Watson, J. C. (2006). Emotion-focused therapy for depression. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Malberg, N. T. (2012). Creating security by exploring the personal meaning of chronic illness in adolescent patients. In M. O'Reilly-Landry (Ed.) A psychodynamic understanding of modern medicine: Placing the person at the center of care. Radcliffe Medical Press.
• Malberg, N. T. (2013). Mentalization based group interventions with chronically ill adolescents: An example of assimilative psychodynamic integration? Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(1), 5–13.
• Persons, J. B., Davidson, J., & Tompkins, M. A. (2001). Essential components of cognitive-behavior therapy for depression. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

APA Videos

• Comparing Models of Emotion in Therapy
  Leslie S. Greenberg, Norka T. Malberg, and Michael A. Tompkins
• Emotion-Focused Therapy Over Time
  Leslie S. Greenberg
• Mentalization-Based Therapy
  Norka T. Malberg
• 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
• Working With Emotion in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  Michael A. Tompkins, Norka T. Malberg, and Leslie S. Greenberg
• Working With Emotion in Emotion-Focused Therapy
  Leslie S. Greenberg, Michael A. Tompkins, and Norka T. Malberg
• Working With Emotion in Psychodynamic Therapy
  Norka T. Malberg, Leslie S. Greenberg, and Michael A. Tompkins

APA Books

• Behavioral Interventions in Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Practical Guidance for Putting Theory Into Action, Second Edition
  Richard F. Farmer and Alexander L. Chapman
• Case Formulation in Emotion-Focused Therapy: Co-Creating Clinical Maps for Change
  Rhonda N. Goldman and Leslie S. Greenberg
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques and Strategies
  Amy Wenzel, Keith S. Dobson, and Pamela A. Hays
• Emotion-Focused Therapy, Revised Edition
  Leslie S. Greenberg
• Exploring Three Approaches to Psychotherapy
  Leslie S. Greenberg, Nancy McWilliams, and Amy Wenzel
• Strategic Decision Making in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  Amy Wenzel
• Supervision Essentials for Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy
  Cory F. Newman and Danielle A. Kaplan
• Supervision Essentials for Emotion-Focused Therapy
  Leslie S. Greenberg and Liliana Romona Tomescu