Changing processes of emotional memories in the light of the Coherence Therapy and the Emotion-Focused Therapy
Keywords:
neuroplasticity, Memory Reconsolidation, Transformational change, Coherence Therapy, Emotional Focused TherapyAbstract
Changing emotional memories is central to psychotherapy. Recent neuroscientific discoveries on memory reconsolidation (Pedreira et al., 2004) have highlighted the possibility and the necessary conditions to achieve a transformative change of aspects of an emotional nature, laying the foundations of fundamental importance for clinical relapses.
The article intends to identify the key processes of emotional memory change, in the light of Coherence Therapy (CT) (Ecker, Ticic & Hulley, 2018) and Emotional Focused Therapy (EFT) (Greenberg, 2000), making use of theoretical elements, methodological and clinical examples. Also will be presented an excerpt from therapeutic work by Leslie Greenberg using EFT and commented by Bruce Ecker et al. (ib.) in terms of the procedural steps described by the CT. It will be clear that the change in deep emotional patterns promoted by EFT can be explained in terms of the steps indicated by Coherence Therapy, which can therefore be considered a metamodel for emotional change.
The article shows how neuroscientific research on memory reconsolidation has shed light on central aspects for clinical practice and for the teaching of procedural processes that aim to implement the transformative processes of emotional memories in psychotherapy, promoting a virtuous circle between research, clinic and training.
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