A Comparison of the Emotion-Focused and Cognitive Behavioral Theories of Anger and Its Treatment.
Abstract
Anger is often a difficult emotion to express and understand and it has come to be recognized as a significant social problem that our society facing today. This paper discusses the efficacy of the Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and the Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for treating patient with anger problems and compared therapists’ view on emotion which how they see emotion as the prime mover in human experience in different ways respectively. Besides, the development, overview and the similarities of CBT & EFT has been critically compared and discussed in this essay. CBT and EFT conceptualize emotional problems differently and employ different techniques in each therapy. Although the CBT and EFT possess many distinct characteristics, it has been shown in this paper that many of their characteristic overlapped and the different aspects of the various approaches are compatible. Despite the lack of abundant research supporting the EFT where majority of published studies on anger have focused primarily on CBT, claims can be made to each type of therapy contributes something unique and may be more or less effective depending on the patients and their particular problem, yet there is no right or wrong answer as to which one is the right therapy for anger.
Introduction
Anger is a basic human uncomfortable emotional that varies from mild irritation to rage as it is often a difficult emotion to express and understand that transcends cultural boundaries. Anger can be a healthy emotion when it is expressed appropriately (Greenberg & Paivio, 1997). Unfortunately many people have expressed their frustration of feelings and anger in an inappropriate way and end up hurting themselves or the people they love. That is why anger has always been seen as associated with many serious negative consequences, such as aggressive behavior, family violence, substance abuse, and physical health problems (Paivio, 1999). Despite a long history of interest in some other negative
Anger is often a difficult emotion to express and understand and it has come to be recognized as a significant social problem that our society facing today. This paper discusses the efficacy of the Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and the Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for treating patient with anger problems and compared therapists’ view on emotion which how they see emotion as the prime mover in human experience in different ways respectively. Besides, the development, overview and the similarities of CBT & EFT has been critically compared and discussed in this essay. CBT and EFT conceptualize emotional problems differently and employ different techniques in each therapy. Although the CBT and EFT possess many distinct characteristics, it has been shown in this paper that many of their characteristic overlapped and the different aspects of the various approaches are compatible. Despite the lack of abundant research supporting the EFT where majority of published studies on anger have focused primarily on CBT, claims can be made to each type of therapy contributes something unique and may be more or less effective depending on the patients and their particular problem, yet there is no right or wrong answer as to which one is the right therapy for anger.
Introduction
Anger is a basic human uncomfortable emotional that varies from mild irritation to rage as it is often a difficult emotion to express and understand that transcends cultural boundaries. Anger can be a healthy emotion when it is expressed appropriately (Greenberg & Paivio, 1997). Unfortunately many people have expressed their frustration of feelings and anger in an inappropriate way and end up hurting themselves or the people they love. That is why anger has always been seen as associated with many serious negative consequences, such as aggressive behavior, family violence, substance abuse, and physical health problems (Paivio, 1999). Despite a long history of interest in some other negative
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