Emotion Regulation in Psychodynamic and Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: An Integrative Perspective

OBJECTIVE: Psychotherapy fragmentation constitutes a significant barrier to progress. In the present article, we argue that emotion regulation processes operate across psychotherapy approaches, serving as an overarching meta-factor of therapeutic change. METHOD: Two major therapeutic approaches–psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural–were examined through the lens of emotion regulation theory. In particular, key constructs within each approach were analyzed in terms of relevant emotion regulation processes. RESULTS: Emotion regulation processes are an overarching meta-factor relevant to a wide range of therapeutic constructs (e.g., defence mechanisms, internal working models, coping strategies, ruptures/reparations of alliance). Different clinical traditions emphasize different aspects of emotion regulation, mainly in terms of implicit vs explicit emotion regulation processes. CONCLUSIONS: An integrative emotion regulation perspective contributes to our understanding of the core change mechanisms of psychotherapy, with significant implications both for research and clinical practice.