ABSTRACT
A large majority of clients presenting for therapy are seeking a means of regulating their emotional states. Often their feelings are intense and overwhelming, or they feel detached and confused by their emotions and the emotions of others. Leader (2008) argues that there is a culturally prevalent model whereby individuals avoid any intense or distressing emotion and that these unpleasant emotions are `medicated away'. He discusses how individuals, rather than learning key emotional skills, seek to live in a sanitized, non-distressing world. This avoidance of distress risks the loss of the vitality and richness of experience that these emotions bring. Part of the task of the therapist can then be seen to be to enliven and revitalize; promoting healthy acceptance and expression of emotions.
