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Emotion Rituals

A Resource for Therapists and Clients

• By David W. McMillan

• Price: $39.95
• Binding: Hardback
• Pages: 288
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 14th December 2005
• ISBN: 978-0-415-95209-5

About the Book

Cognitive behavior therapy does not typically include the use of emtion in its treatment protocols. Emotion Rituals addresses this omission with a thorough discussion of the interplay between thoughts and emotions as vital to the therapeutic process. McMillan's emotion rituals allow clients to apply what they learn in therapy sessions to daily life, fostering continual growth outside of the therapy hour and increasing the effectiveness of each session.

McMillan's unique writing style imparts hard facts and theoretical discussion in a conversational tone, presenting new and complicated ideas in a readable and comprehensible manner. Each chapter is devoted to one emotion, and the rituals are suitable for use by both client and therapist, allowing them each to better understand emotion and emotional responses. The result is an accessible and lively text that offers an original approach to healing through feelings.

Reviews

'Here is a book written in a relaxed conversational style that gives specific methods for changing emotion with emotion. The book is filled with information about emotions and offers methods to change anger with sadness, shame with pride, fear with calm and sadness with anger, to mention less than half of the emotions for which change rituals are offered. McMillan guides the reader in how to teach clients about the dynamics of an emotion they are struggling with and what rituals to offer clients, for use several times daily, to undo emotional knots and develop a broader emotional range. A must read for all those interested in going beyond what you currently know about how to work with emotion transformation.' - Leslie S. Greenberg, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, York University, UK

Table of Contents

A Simple Notion. How Emotions Work in the Brain and Body. Using Ritual in Psychotherapy. How the Mind Feels: The Basic Emotions. Anger: The Most Dangerous Emotion. Fear: The Most Avoidant Emotion. Sadness: The Most Paralyzing Emotion. Joy/Contentment: The Destination Emotion. Interest/Desire/Excitement: The Emotions' Source of Positive Energy. Shame/Guilt: The Most Instructive Emotion. Surprise/Startle/Wonder: Emotions' Clutch. Fatigue/Relaxation/Sleep/Trance: Emotions' Anesthesia. Disgust/Contempt: The Discerning Emotion. Empathy/Compassion/Tending: The Emotional Master Key. Emotions: The Symphony of Psychotherapy. Notes. References. About the Authors.

About the Author(s)

David W. McMillan, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. McMillan is Founder and Co-Director of both Compose, a program to treat family violence, and the Parkwest Eating Disorder Program. He is an Adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology, George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.