Page 37 - NARM Model for Working with Affect

NARM Affect Core Principle: Emotions & Identifications
§In many therapeutic approaches there is an unquestioned belief that getting clients to feel and express their emotions is a good thing
§From this belief, clinical interventions and techniques can become goal-oriented toward feeling emotions without understanding or recognizing why the emotions may be foreclosed
§There are other therapeutic approaches that minimize the importance of emotions
§Cognitive and Behavioral approaches tend to focus on cognitions and behaviors, rather than emotions
§Somatic approaches tend to focus on accessing the body, sensations and movement, at the expense of emotions
§These interventions and techniques may be used to manage, minimize, or distance from emotional responses, which may further reinforce disconnection from important aspects of the self
NARM Model for Working with Affect Laurence Heller, PhD & Brad J Kammer, LMFT, LPCC 44