11 introduction emotion special issue.pdfVIP

Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Clin. Psychol. Psychother. 11, 1–2 (2004) Introduction Emotion Special Issue Leslie S. Greenberg* Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada In this issue on an emotion-focused approach to unconscious, preverbal or perceptual. Modes of therapy, emotion is seen as a special form of infor- processing based on fear or loss have been called mation processing crucial to survival and adapta- cognitive. Complex states such as worthlessness or tion. It is now clear that emotion influences modes hopelessness, which are based as much on emotion of processing, guides attention, enhances memory as they are on cognition and are more feelings than and that much behaviour is in the service of beliefs, have been treated as cognitions. Different emotion regulation and attachment. People do not personality disorders have been seen as being only do things because of their views of things but based on a different cognitive content. Now that because it feels good or bad. People attempt to cognition is so all encompassing, the thesis that regulate affect—to minimize unpleasant and max- cognition produces emotion and disorder and that imize pleasant affect—and this is a driving force in therapy should be aimed at changing cognition is human motivation and action. much less testable and much less interesting than Emotions, as well as influencing information when cognition meant automatic thought. The processing and providing action dispositions, also cogniti