Emotion as a Human Experience: The Psychotherapist’s Perspective

Abstract

Emotions are affective states of short duration, with concomitant vegetative symptoms, triggered by an internal or external perception. There are primary or universal emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust), secondary or social emo- tions (compassion, shame, guilt, contempt, jealousy, envy, pride, admiration) and background emotions (wellbeing, malaise, calm, tension). Emotions are complex programs of actions shaped by evolution. The actions are completed by a cognitive program, but the world of emotions is primarily a world of actions carried out in our body from the facial expressions and body positions to the changes in the viscera and internal milieu. We can consider emotion as a primary value system of the brain, leading certain activations to be selectively reinforced. In clinical interviews we are often led from the line of verbal speech to the line of emotional speech. We use our own emotions or feelings as a way to detect discrepancies or incongruities in the relationship, probably between the channels of verbal, non-verbal and empathic communication. Carl Rogers made an important contribution to psychotherapy with his experience of unconditionally accepting the client, who comes to be heard, without prejudice or judgment. A feeling, an emotion, a reasoning were accepted with the same attention, care and respect. The forms of expression and the exact configuration of stimuli that can induce an emotion are different in different cultures and individuals. But what is striking is the similarity.