Psychological Correlates of Change in Emotion Regulation Over 8 Months of Psychotherapy

Emotion regulation corresponds to the individual’s ability to identify and modulate emotional experiences and improvements thereof over the course of psychotherapy are associated with the reduction in psychiatric symptoms across multiple diagnoses. However, the extent to which changes in the capacity for emotion regulation over the course of therapy relate to individual differences in emotion-related self-perceptions, degree of psychiatric distress, and the reasons for seeking psychotherapy remain understudied. This study explored the relations between changes in the capacity for emotion regulation over 8 months of psychotherapy, as defined by all subscales of the Difficulties for Emotion Regulation Scale, trait emotional intelligence and psychological distress. In addition, this study examined whether changes in the capacity for emotion regulation differed between patients reporting at least one regulation treatment goal and those reporting other goals. Data were collected as part of an ongoing program evaluation at an urban community-based mental health clinic. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 74 patients prior to beginning psychotherapy and after completing 8 months of psychotherapy. We found that higher trait emotional intelligence and lower psychological distress were related to improvements in emotion regulation. Moreover, the capacity for emotion regulation, particularly emotional awareness and limited access to emotion regulation strategies, worsened among individuals who reported at least one regulation treatment goal relative to those who reported other goals. As such, an initial phase of psychotherapy that focuses on integrating skills and self-awareness of emotional sensations prior to or in conjunction with embarking on an open-ended exploratory treatment is recommended.