What Is Emotion-Focused Therapy and How Does It Work?

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, often pronounced “act” as one word) is a modern psychotherapy approach that emphasizes psychological flexibility:

Attachment-Focused Therapy (sometimes called attachment-based therapy or attachment-informed psychotherapy) is a therapeutic approach rooted in attachment theory.

Client-Centered Therapy (also called Person-Centered Therapy or Rogerian Therapy) is a humanistic therapy approach developed by Carl Rogers

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a psychotherapy approach originally developed to help people who have experienced trauma —

Compassion-Focused Therapy, developed by Paul Gilbert, is a therapeutic approach designed for people who carry a lot of self-criticism, shame, or inner harshness — often due to early life experiences, trauma, neglect, or environments that didn’t allow safe emotional expression.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a psychotherapy model developed by Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s. At its heart is the idea that our psyche has multiple sub-personalities or “parts,” each trying to help in its own way

Have you ever felt like you can explain your emotions perfectly — you know why you react the way you do, where it comes from, and what you “should” do differently — but somehow, nothing changes?

Many people come to therapy saying, “I know why I feel this way… but I still can’t seem to change it.” Maybe you’ve analyzed your past, journaled endlessly, or even read every self-help book under the sun — yet certain thought patterns keep looping back. This is often where Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) can help.

Relational therapy (often tied with relational-cultural theory, relational psychoanalysis, or relational psychotherapy) emphasizes how your relationships shape you—how early attachments, culture, trust, power dynamics, mutuality, and emotional connection affect your sense of self. It puts the therapeutic relationship itself at centre stage, as a model for what healed relating feels like.

Many people enter therapy believing the goal is to fix what’s wrong — to analyze flaws, diagnose issues, or dig up what’s broken. But what if healing didn’t always start with your pain? What if it began with your strengths?

You may know therapy focused on what’s “wrong” — the symptoms, the past, the breakdown. Adlerian Therapy flips that script. It’s about understanding why you do the things you do (the goals behind behaviors), reconnecting with meaning, finding where you belong, and building confidence through connection and purpose.

Art therapy is a powerful form of psychotherapy that uses creativity — drawing, painting, sculpting, collage, or even digital media — as a bridge between the inner world and the outer one.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most studied and used psychotherapy approaches around — not because it’s the best fit for everyone, but because it reliably helps many people break out of painful cycles of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Culturally responsive therapy (CRT) is more than “just being nice” or “trying to understand.” It’s a therapeutic approach that really centers a person’s culture — their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, language, socioeconomic status, migration history, family values, worldview — as a core part of who they are, how they experience distress, and what healing looks like.

DBT is a structured, skills-based therapy that helps people learn how to feel, cope, and respond differently — not by getting rid of emotions, but by learning to ride the waves instead of getting swept away by them.

Rather than focusing only on symptoms or behaviours, existential therapy looks at the human experience as a whole — your choices, your values, your freedom, your relationships, and your sense of meaning. It invites you to examine how you relate to yourself and the world, and what it means to live a life that feels truly yours.

This approach recognizes that trauma can quietly shape the way we think, feel, and relate to others, sometimes long after the actual event has passed. Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with you?” trauma-informed care begins with, “What happened to you — and how did you learn to survive it?”

Schema Therapy focuses on identifying these patterns, understanding where they come from, and developing healthier ways of meeting emotional needs. It’s a powerful model for individuals who intellectually understand their issues but still find themselves repeating painful cycles.

Solution-Focused Therapy is grounded in the belief that people already have the resources and abilities they need to create change. The role of the therapist is not to “fix” but to help clients uncover and strengthen those existing tools. It’s a collaborative, goal-oriented approach designed to bring about meaningful progress in a short amount of time.

We all have a story — about who we are, where we’ve been, and what we believe we’re capable of. But sometimes, the stories we carry begin to shape us in painful ways. They might sound like, “I’m not good enough,” “I always fail,” or “No one ever sticks around for me.” Over time, these narratives can become so ingrained that they start to define how we see ourselves and interact with the world.

What makes TF-CBT different from standard CBT is its focus on both trauma processing and skill-building. It’s not just about changing thoughts — it’s about helping clients feel safe enough to revisit painful memories and rewrite how those experiences are held in the mind and body.

Rooted in the idea that much of our behavior is shaped by unconscious thoughts, past experiences, and unresolved conflicts, this therapeutic approach invites us to slow down and look beneath the surface.

Humanistic therapy is a compassionate and client-centred approach that focuses on helping people connect with their authentic selves.

Rather than fitting clients into a single model of care, Integrative Therapy blends the best elements from multiple therapeutic approaches to meet each person where they are.

At its core, mindfulness-based therapy teaches individuals how to observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment. Instead of trying to control or suppress inner experiences, this approach helps people relate to them differently, creating space for calm, clarity, and intentional action.

Mindfulness has become one of those words that seems to be everywhere — from yoga studios and wellness apps to therapy sessions and coffee mugs. But despite how often it’s mentioned, “mindfulness” can still feel a bit vague. What does it actually mean? And how is it used in therapy, beyond just “being present”?

For many people, healing isn’t just about symptom relief — it’s about finding meaning, connection, and purpose. Spirituality in therapy recognizes this deeper layer of the human experience.

The goal is to help clients move toward self-awareness, self-acceptance, and authentic living by recognizing and integrating the parts of themselves they may have disowned or avoided.

Expressive arts therapy operates on the belief that creativity is inherently healing. When we create, we access deeper parts of ourselves that are intuitive and often less defended.

Behaviour Therapy is one of the most established and evidence-based forms of psychotherapy, grounded in the idea that our actions are learned — and therefore, can be unlearned or changed.

Experiential Therapy is a dynamic and interactive approach that helps clients process emotions, insights, and experiences through action rather than talk alone.

Gottman Method Couples Therapy, developed by psychologists Drs. John and Julie Gottman, offers a structured and evidence-based framework for understanding and improving relationships. Rooted in decades of research observing real couples, the Gottman Method provides tools that help partners build trust, deepen intimacy, and manage conflict in healthier ways.

While the classic image of someone lying on a couch talking to an analyst may come to mind, contemporary psychoanalytic therapy has evolved. Today, it remains one of the most insightful approaches for understanding the deeper layers of the self and the emotional patterns that shape our relationships, motivations, and mental health.

Developed by psychologists William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick in the 1980s, MI is grounded in empathy, respect, and partnership. It’s not about convincing or pressuring someone to change — it’s about helping them discover their own reasons and readiness to move forward.