The Three Parts of Emotions (3-Component Model)

Abstract

During this session, clients learn about the three components of emotions, which are thoughts, physical sensations, and behaviors/urges. This information is the backbone of the work clients will do to identify their emotions and get ready to change how they approach and experience them. To help clients identify the three parts of an emotional experience, this treatment program uses the 3-Component Model. The three parts interact with one another, and the 3-Component Model uses two-way arrows from each part to the other parts to illustrate how they all affect one another. The EDA form can be useful to identify when strong emotions occurred recently, and the 3-Component Model form is useful to understand and label the thoughts, physical sensations, and behaviors that made up this emotional experience.