Efficacy of two versions of emotion-focused therapy for resolving child abuse trauma

Abstract

This study evaluated and compared emotion-focused therapy for trauma (EFTT) with imaginal confrontation (IC) of perpetrators (n=20) and EFTT with empathic exploration (EE) of trauma material (n=25). Clients were women and men with histories of different types of childhood maltreatment (emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; emotional neglect). Clients were randomly assigned to treatment condition. Outcome measures assessed symptom distress, self and interpersonal problems, and abuse resolution. Results indicated statistically and clinically significant improvements on eight measures at posttest, maintenance of gains at follow-up, and no statistically significant differences between conditions. There were higher rates of clinically significant change in IC and a lower attrition rate for EE (7% vs. 20%). More severe personality pathology negatively influenced some dimensions of outcome, particularly in EE.

“That chair work thing was great”: a pilot study of group-based emotion-focused therapy for anxiety and depression

“…Robinson et al Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DMS) Task Force has considered a reclassification of mental disorders according to clusters, with the "Emotional" cluster including both anxiety and depression as a result of their many common features, including temperamental antecedents, genes, and response to treatment (Goldberg, 2010). In terms of treatment, individual emotion-focused therapy is recognized as an evidence-based treatment for depression and trauma (APA, Division 56, 2012b; APA, Division 12, 2012a; Courtois & Ford, 2009;Ellison, Greenberg, Goldman, & Angus, 2009;Goldman, Greenberg, & Angus, 2006;Greenberg, 2010;Greenberg & Watson, 2006;Paivio & Greenberg, 2001;Paivio & Nieuwenhuis, 2001;Paivio, Jarry, Chagigiorgis, Hall, & Ralston, 2010;Watson, Gordon, Stermac, Kalogerakos, & Steckley, 2003), and it has shown promise for anxiety disorders (Cisler, Olatunji, Feldner, & Forsyth, 2010;Greenberg, 2010;MacLeod, Elliott, & Rodgers, 2012;Pascual-Leone & Greenberg, 2007).…”

Responsive Integrative Treatment of Clients with PTSD and Trauma-Related Disorders: An Expanded Evidence-Based Model

“…It provides the means for "identifying and articulating the problematic cognitive-affective processes underlying and generating symptomatic experience" (Greenberg & Goldman, 2007, p. 387). EFT principles, originally developed for the treatment of depression (Watson et al, 2003), have been effectively applied to couples therapy (Johnson, Hunsley, Greenberg, & Schindler, 1999) and complex trauma (Paivio et al, 2010). Experiential methods of deepening access to experience are of particular importance for trauma focused work at CF 8 (Bradshaw et al, 2011), relationship building at CF 4, and schema level work at CF 10.The resulting focus on themes relevant to therapeutic progress provides a basis for collaboration between therapist and client and enhances the effectiveness of treatment (Greenberg, 2004;Greenberg & Goldman, 2007).…”

“…Gersons, Carlier, Lambert, and van der Kolk's (2000) Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy (BEP) combines CBT and psychodynamic principles, but the "psychodynamic" aspect mainly refers to engaging with the client's personal meaning system, a central feature of cognitively oriented treatments. Barabasz, Barabasz, and Watkins' (2011) Ego-state therapy evokes intense re-experiencing of the trauma, and emotionally engaged re-experiencing is also central to Paivio, Jarry, Chagigiorgis, Hall, and Ralston's (2010) Emotion Focused Therapy for Trauma (EFTT) which is specifically directed at survivors of child sexual abuse. Finally, Bradshaw, Cook, and McDonald's (2011) Observed and Experiential Integration (OEI) uses a range of experiential techniques as well as EMDR to heighten engagement with the trauma memory.…”

Administration of Childhood Physical and Childhood Sexual Abuse Screens in Adolescents and Young Adults: a Literature Review

“…Its identification, through victim disclosure, is recognized as a necessary first step in ameliorating the immediate and longer-term impact of childhood abuse 24 . A number of therapeutic approaches can significantly reduce the common problems and symptoms associated with childhood abuse in children 25,26,27,28,29 , and in adults 30,31,32,33,34,35 . Therefore, the accurate identification of victims of childhood abuse is a pressing issue, and includes the difficulty of identifying abuse both close to the time it occurs and years after it has occurred 2,3,4,5 .…”