Bespoke Members
Introduction
Many of your clients likely struggle with emotions, whether emotions that are “too strong” or emotions that are numbed (or both!), which is why they sought psychotherapy—to increase their coping skills. Current treatment approaches provide a variety of methods to help clients regulate and cope with their difficult emotions, but practicing clinicians may not know which of these methods are based in the science of emotion and emotion regulation. In this workshop, we provide a practical, evidence-informed overview of emotion science to help therapists understand how to leverage the research on emotion for improving therapeutic practice.
The event will be equivalent to 2hrs of CPD.
Content
This workshop will help therapists understand the current science of emotion and emotion regulation to be able to both address emotional issues in session and coach clients how to better manage emotions in their everyday lives. The workshop will cover unpacking the science around what emotions are and how they are generated, as well as the functions of emotions (i.e., why we have emotions and what they can do for us). The workshop will define emotion regulation and review distinctions between effective and adaptive regulation, as well as reviewing how emotion regulation strategies map on to the processes of emotion generation and regulation. We will discuss foundational skills underlying emotion regulation (e.g., labelling, awareness, and other “emotional conditioning” skills). How to assess clients’ strategy use will be reviewed, as well as several scientifically-backed adaptive regulation strategies. Finally, emotion regulation flexibility and balance in regulation will be covered. Clinical examples will be provided throughout regarding how to incorporate the science of emotion and emotion regulation into therapeutic practice.
Learning Objectives
Describe how emotions are generated and how they are functional.
2. Select adaptive emotion regulation strategies to teach to clients.
3. Critique a client’s use (or lack of) flexible and balanced emotion regulation.
Training Modalities
Training modalities will include didactics, Q & A and live role play demonstrations.
Key References
Gross, J. J., Uusberg, H., & Uusberg, A. (2019). Mental illness and well‐being: an affect regulation perspective. World Psychiatry, 18(2), 130-139. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20618
Kobylińska, D., & Kusev, P. (2019). Flexible emotion regulation: How situational demands and individual differences influence the effectiveness of regulatory strategies. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 72. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00072
Southward, M. W., Sauer-Zavala, S., & Cheavens, J. S. (2021). Specifying the mechanisms and targets of emotion regulation: A translational framework from affective science to psychological treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 28(2), 168-182. https://doi.org/10.1037/cps0000003
Veilleux, J. C. (2025). Open to Emotion : How Acknowledging, Understanding, and Regulating Your Feelings Can Improve Your Mental Health. American Psychological Assosciation: Washington, D.C.
About the presenter
Dr. Jennifer Veilleux is a clinical psychologist researcher in the domain of motivation and emotion, running the Treating Emotion and Motivational Processes Transdiagnostically (TEMPT) laboratory at the University of Arkansas. She has published extensively on the topics of emotion beliefs and distress intolerance, both of which are relevant to the emotional processes covered in this course. Dr. Veilleux also regularly teaches courses on emotion and emotion regulation for both undergraduate and graduate students, where the graduate student course focuses on teaching burgeoning psychologists how to apply scientific knowledge about emotional processes to their therapy clients.
Dr. Marily Oppezzo is a behavioral and learning scientist and lifestyle medicine practitioner. She received her doctorate in Educational Psychology at Stanford Unuversity; she has studied under and worked with Dr. James Gross, leader in the field of emotion, whom she credits for her training in emotion regulation. Dr. Oppezzo regularly teaches classes and workshops on emotion regulation and behavior change for graduate students and adult learners. Her primary work is researching health behavior change, identifying the best ways for people to integrate healthy behavioral and psychological practices into their daily lives.
Who should attend
This workshop is for any mental health provider who navigates client emotions. The examples will prioritize adult clients, but content is applicable to providers who work with youth as well.