7.1.1. Case Example: Empathic
Exploration: Erica
Erica is
a poised, 28-year-old woman, who has sought therapy after she became
depressed. She had recently
changed careers from sales to graphic design. A long-term relationship had ended about a year before she
came to therapy. Currently, she is
involved with a young man who is often away from the city on business. She notices that recently she has begun
to be a lot more irritable with him.
She does not understand the root of her depression and is not even sure
what triggered it. Although the
client is easily able to access her feelings and explore what is happening in
her life, she still finds herself becoming depressed for no apparent
reason. At the beginning of her
seventh session she recounts an incident that has left her feeling angry and
depressed. The therapist begins to
help her explore the incident using empathic understanding and empathic
exploration responses (we’ve labeled experiential response modes used by the
therapist, see Chapter 4):
C1: I’m not sure what happened this
weekend, but some of Don’s friends came over, and I just found myself feeling
down after they left. I’m not sure
why?
T1: [Brief pause] Would it help to explore
this a little more in depth?
[=task structuring]
C2: Yes, I think so, because afterwards I
was so irritable with Don. We
didn’t speak for the rest of the weekend.
T2: So tell me what happened? You said some friends came over...?
[exploratory question]
C3: Yes! They dropped by out of the blue and we sat around talking
about our plans for the summer.
They want to take off and go sailing for a year. I don’t understand them. Bridget has just finished law school
and landed a terrific job, but Bruce wants her to go sailing with him. I just found myself getting so
angry. It seems really ridiculous,
I mean, What business is it of mine?
T3: It seems so silly but somehow the
thought of them taking off was so, frustrating? [Brief pause]
Or somehow just really got to you.
[=exploratory reflection]
C4: Yes! She is so smart and has worked really
hard for this. She went back to
school and now she is being pressured to give it all up.
T4: So something about seeing her pressured
to give up, what?, something precious?, really bugs you? [=empathic conjecture]
C5: Umm, [pause] Yeah! I mean law school is hard work; it took
a lot for her to get this far. But
really I suppose if she wants to go, that is her decision.
T5: So you appreciate that this is her
decision, but somehow it really, really got to you. [=empathic invitation/refocusing]
C6: Yes, [pause] I feel her space is being
invaded somehow.
T6: Oh, that somehow she is being taken
over, redefined? I’m not sure...?
[=exploratory reflection]
C7: Yes! Yes, that’s it.
I guess that is the way I feel about Don. He moved in and took over so quickly, I did not have a
chance to know whether I wanted to become more deeply involved. I feel as if I have lost some of
myself, I wish I could reclaim it.
In this example of empathic exploration, the therapist provides a
solid empathic context while helping Erica articulate her perceptions and
feelings about her friends and her current relationship. The therapist listens closely to what
the client is saying and keeps her focused on exploring her feelings in the
moment. Together, they deconstruct
Erica’s assumptions about her friends and begin to shed light on what is
significant to her in her current life situation. As a result, her feelings about her relationship and its
impact on her become clearer and she is able to see what she needs more
clearly.
Materials designed to
accompany the book Learning Emotion-Focused Therapy: The
Process-Experiential Approach to Change from APA Books.
©2003 Robert Elliott, Jeanne Watson, Rhonda Goldman, and Leslie Greenberg
http://www.process-experiential.org/learning