On Becoming Emotion Focused
Format:Paperback
Publisher:American Psychological Association
Publishing:31st Aug '25
£29.99
This title is due to be published on 31st August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

A therapy pioneer draws connections between his life and his transformational approach to psychotherapy.
The question of whether emotion-focused skills is an inborn talent or can be acquired through learning is an intriguing one. On Becoming Emotion Focused attempts to answer that question - whether such attunement is a product of nature (implicit learning) or nurture (explicit learning) while also illustrating, through the unraveling of author Les Greenberg's personal experiences, how people can best learn to become emotion focused.
For Les Greenberg, becoming emotion focused was a theoretical, scientific, and personal journey. The development of a therapeutic manner and skill was far more subjective than the conceptual development of the theory, and involved many individual threads of experience, some explicit, some implicit. In this book, he delves into the core aspects of how he became an emotion-focused psychotherapist, with attempts to make visible what threads informed the development of this approach to theory and practice.
The evolution of the theory and practice of emotion-focused therapy (EFT) has been interwoven with Les’ life context and personal development, and it has been a delicate balance to give appropriate weight to each. This book is a unique contribution to the field in revealing the contribution of the theorist’s life to the development of a major theory and practice in psychology. EFT, perhaps more than any other approach, best exemplifies how the implicit and explicit forces blend together to create holistic understanding.
"Greenberg has taken us back in time with him to understand--and experience--his incorporation of emotion-focused therapy into the mainstream of therapy interventions, arguably one of the most important contributions made to the field of psychotherapy in the 20th century. He also shares the details of his groundbreaking development of an innovative process research methodology that has had important implications for clinical practice. An educational and fascinating read." - Marvin R. Goldfried, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Retired, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
"It is rare to find an academic book that persuasively connects the author's autobiography to the theory and therapy he developed so brilliantly. I was intrigued to learn how core elements of the humanistic philosophy, affect theory, and clinical wisdom that are present in emotion-focused therapy emerged from Les Greenberg's lifelong search for authenticity and meaning, as shaped by the familial and cultural milieu of his South African upbringing. What a gripping and effective way to learn the conceptual underpinnings and clinical practice of this process-experiential, evidence-based therapy!" - Stanley B. Messer, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Former Dean, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, United States
"Les Greenberg has not only investigated, practiced, taught, and built the theory of emotion-focused therapy, he has been living it. This memoir, full of revealing self-explorations, touching recollections and insightful reflections, may be the best resource to understand and learn EFT, as it gives us a profoundly human window of how EFT can be embodied, and how it can facilitate our own personal and professional actualization." - Louis G. Castonguay, PhD, Liberal Arts Professor of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States, and Former President of the Society for Psychotherapy Research Greenberg's well-written, compelling description of his rich inner life is fascinating and provides a window into his personality and the development of emotion-focused therapy. I recommend this book as a model for the rest of us to reflect on how our experiences influence our implicit and explicit theories." - Clara E. Hill, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
"A compelling intellectual and emotional journey leading to the development of emotion-focused therapy, by one of the pioneers of psychotherapy and its research. An eye-opener and an embarrassment of riches for anyone interested in EFT." - Erkki Heinonen, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
ISBN: 9781433843327
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
433 pages