ABSTRACT
To be effective with FELT, therapists need a strong understanding of how change occurs in therapy. This chapter takes an integrative approach and covers five broad theories of psychotherapeutic change: expression/catharsis; corrective emotional experiences; insight/working through unmet psychodynamic needs; problem solving and learning coping strategies; and healing Object-relations, internal representations, and interpersonal development. Each mechanism is reviewed, but particular attention is drawn toward psychodynamic needs. The chapter presents seven primary psychodynamic needs which need resolution throughout a person’s life to maximize their likelihood of healthy psychological outcomes. In FELT, these seven needs are defined as analgesia/comfort needs, dunamis and exousia needs, superego needs, need for love, need for Objects, popularity needs, and integration needs. Each need is described in detail within this chapter, along with how these needs translate to more specific psychotherapy goals. Other psychoanalytic ideas are also reviewed. The chapter concludes by suggesting how these mechanistic theories translate to general therapeutic techniques designed to activate these mechanisms, a prelude to Chapter 5, where those techniques are discussed in more detail.
