Expression of Emotion

When It Causes Trauma and When It Helps

Datos Bibliográficos

ID16807488
AutoresJill Littrell (Georgia State University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Volumen6
Número3
Páginas300-320
Fecha de publicación2009-08-05
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Evidence-Based Social Work (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1543-3714 • E-ISSN: 1543-3722
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15433710802686922
PMID20183680
OpenAlexW1999776950
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas84

The idea that clients should be encouraged to express strong emotion regarding the traumas they have suffered is widely assumed. This article asks whether the empirical literature supports the underlying assumption that emotional expression leads to positive outcomes (better health and dissipation of distress). Studies in which individuals who have been given an opportunity to express emotions about past traumas are compared with subjects placed in appropriate control conditions are reviewed. The empirical literature suggests that eliciting emotion is harmful when it is not associated with reappraisal of past trauma, but helpful when the reappraisal occurs. The following guideline emerges: if trauma is to be revisited, it should be accompanied by reappraisal. Since this is sometimes difficult to engineer, alternative approaches for working with victims of trauma, not involving revisiting the trauma, are offered. Additionally, it is suggested that it can be helpful to identify the nature of the problem arising from the traumatic experience and then provide therapeutic intervention that addresses the problem

Anxiety · Cognitive psychology · Distress · Emotional distress · Emotional trauma · Empirical evidence · Empirical research · Epistemology · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Clinical Psychology · Computer Science · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications