Session 1 - Education about Anxious-Depressive Distress and the Treatment and Introduction of Emotion Regulation Techniques

Summary

The goal of session 1 is to briefly describe the goals of the treatment, and to begin to educate the patient about anxious-depressive distress and its physical and psychological effects. Culturally appropriate analogies promote the acceptance and recall of the core teaching principles. In this first session, the main metaphor utilized is that of the “inner child” who remembers everything and is easily frightened. This is used as a way to teach about bad memory triggers and about emotional hijacking. In this session, meditation and applied stretching are introduced. The therapist should be sure that the patient does the stretching and other motions, and if the patient doesn’t, encourage the patient to do so with a playful mien. The therapist should maintain a playful (even laughing) demeanor whenever possible. At times, to ensure that a sense of relaxation is being conveyed, the therapist should purposefully slow down and deepen the voice. This also creates a sense of shift in the session and so promotes flexibility and emotion regulation.