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Table 1 Content of the emotion-focused components

From: Psychotherapy integration under scrutiny: investigating the impact of integrating emotion-focused components into a CBT-based approach: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

EFT-Component

Content

Empathy

Empathy forms the basis of the therapeutic work in emotion-focused therapy as a technique and the fundament of the therapeutic relationship. Different forms of empathy play an important role in the shaping of the therapeutic relationship, affect regulation, deconstruction and the establishment of positive behavior towards the self.

Focusing

Focusing is a therapeutic technique to help expand the cognitive memories by the corresponding bodily reactions and thereby activate affective schemes usually arising in problematic situations. The goal is to look at current behavior in a larger context and recognize potential relationships to past experiences.

Two-chair work

The two-chair dialogue is used for confrontational processes e.g. self-evaluative splits, anxiety-splits and hopelessness splits where the patient operates alternating from both chairs. The main aim of two-chair work is an increase in self-compassion.

Empty-chair work

An indication for the empty-chair work is unfinished business with a significant other. The significant other can be imagined in the empty chair and contacted. The objective is a change in emotional schemes concerning the significant other.