Why is emotional regulation so important in psychotherapy?

These are the aspects of emotion management that make it key in therapy.

Psychotherapy is not simply meeting with the psychologist and telling him or her aloud the frustrations we have been carrying over the last few days or weeks; nor is it attending information sessions in which we as patients internalize theoretical knowledge about what is happening to us and get rid of false beliefs.

Although these two phenomena are present to a greater or lesser extent in any psychotherapy process, psychotherapy goes far beyond these kinds of activities. It is not based simply on the expression and memorization of ideas, but is as much or more related to the coming and going of emotions than to the transmission of knowledge that can be captured in phrases and words.

In other words, emotional management, that which takes place in the dynamism of our mind, is a key aspect in psychological therapy, and this cannot be encompassed by language nor by what we can keep in writing. To progress through the visits to the psychologist means to mastering the practice of these kinds of living and changing processes based on the modulation and transformation of emotions in the here and now. in the here and now.

Why is emotional regulation fundamental in psychological therapy?

Do people addicted to tobacco know that Smoking is bad? Currently, the answer in the vast majority of cases is yes: every year large amounts of money are invested in making everyone aware of the existence of the harmful effects of this product, at least in Western countries. However, this does not detract from the fact that thousands of people who are perfectly aware that smoking is damaging their health try to stop using tobacco and do not feel able to do so.

This fact is a good illustration of what takes place in a psychotherapy process: it is not so much about learning the theory, but about mastering the practice of gaining control and autonomy in the way we live our lives, think and relate to others.. Just as reading a self-help book will probably not be enough to overcome a psychopathology, it is necessary to expose ourselves to a context in which we can train new and more adaptive ways of living life.

And psychotherapy sessions are that context: a place where mental health and psychological wellness professionals give us support, study our particular case and offer us tailored solutions. Solutions that involve increasing our knowledge about what is happening to us, but also being able to perform exercises that allow us to learn to better manage our emotions and feelings, among other things. Not everything is based on talking, reading or listening to advice; most of the change comes through personal transformations based on practice, a practice supported by the advice and guidelines of the psychotherapist, and the material and psychological tools he or she offers us.

Main areas of emotion management in a therapeutic process

These are the most important aspects in which patients are improving their management of emotions during the unfolding of the phases of psychotherapy.

1. The relationship with our own perception of the problem

The process of self-knowledge in relation to the problem that has led us to seek professional help is key.In fact, many times part of what makes us suffer lies there. Psychologists propose a whole series of exercises that help to advance on this front; for example, we often give a series of instructions and guidelines to be applied on a daily basis to write down certain types of thoughts that come to mind, in order to learn patterns of appearance of ideas, feelings, etc.

This makes it possible to question certain erroneous beliefs about ourselves, to stop unpleasant or dysfunctional feelings that usually lead us to perform inappropriate behaviors, etc. In this way, we stop feeding the emotional processes that were keeping "alive" the set of actions and thought patterns that put us in problematic situations and that do not bring us anything good.

2. The relationship with the psychotherapist

The type of emotional bond we establish with the person handling our case is very important; in fact, it greatly influences the outcome we will obtain.In fact, it has a great influence on the result we are going to obtain, since if this interaction is problematic, we will most likely not be as open and honest as the situation requires, and we will not be fully committed to the therapy.

Fortunately, this is an area to which psychologists pay a lot of attention and in which we are used to intervene for mutual benefit, so you will have a lot of help to "connect" in the right way, neither from a too cold and distant treatment nor from the expectation of establishing a friendship.

3. The relationship with the therapy process

Knowing how to use the emotions related to therapy to our advantage is something that is noticeable, among other things, in our ability to self-motivate ourselves to reach the next goal.. And of course, it decreases the risk that we will stop attending sessions early.

4. The relationship with one's own thoughts and feelings

As we master emotion regulation, we become better able to modulate the way we think and feel, we become more able to modulate the way in which we "move through our mind" our attentional focus.. That makes us focus on those aspects in which we can do something to improve and that allow us to be constructive, instead of limiting ourselves to be anchored in pessimism.

5. The relationship with our daily environment

This area includes both what we think and feel when interacting with the environments to which we are usually exposed (our office, the stores we pass by, etc.) and with the people with whom we usually relate or might come to relate (our partner, our parents, our bosses, etc.).

6. The relationship with our self-esteem

Finally, all the previous processes, partially overlapping with each other, give rise to a balanced self-esteem, adjusted to our real capacities and to the real needs of our clients.The relationship with our self-esteem, which is adjusted to our real capabilities and which is also capable of leading us to take on new challenges, given that we are aware that although we can always learn new things, we are imperfect and there is room for further progress.

Bibliographical references:

• Casella, S.M. (2015). Therapeutic rapport: the forgotten intervention. Journal of emergency nursing, 41(3): pp. 252 - 154.
• Spencer-Oatey, H. (2005). (Im)Politeness, Face and Perceptions of Rapport: Unpackaging their Bases and Interrelationships. Politeness Research. 1(1): 95 - 119.
• Wierzbicki, M.; Pekarik, G. (1993). A meta-analysis of psychotherapy dropout. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 24(2): pp. 190 - 195.