ABSTRACT
The Emotional Schema model provides a model of effectiveness—“personal empowerment”. Rather than focusing on eliminating unpleasant experiences or emotions, the empowerment model describes the conditions of resilience. For example, the client is asked to specify goals— that is, important targets for the client that are linked to values. The elements of personal empowerment, then, are “What is my goal?”, “What do I have to do to achieve it?” and “Am I willing to do it?”. Importantly, the idea of “What I want to do” is viewed as interfering with or irrelevant to what “I need to do”. The willingness to do what one does not want to do is viewed as an essential part of personal growth. This includes constructive discomfort (doing what is hard to do), successful imperfection (making progress imperfectly) and pride in overcoming obstacles (viewing the self as someone who does the hard things).
