ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the nature and function of emotion. EFIT privileges emotion as a primary organizer of inner experience and interpersonal interactions. Emotion is the music that colors our world. It literally moves and motivates us. The six core emotions are outlined and techniques to access and deepen emotion discussed. New emotional experiences open the door to change in psychotherapy, that is, into new ways to see and engage with self and other. The focus on the construction and regulation of emotion in the present and the way it moves clients into key stances in their lives keeps the therapist on target. Truth does not impact us unless it is felt – unless it registers for us on a visceral level and resonates as our own reality.
