Pain dynamics: an integrative roadmap for navigating through the experiential process

ABSTRACT The authors present a theoretical integrative model of pain-dynamics for the categorization and transformation of emotional pain in person-centered and experiential psychotherapies. Integrating data from research literature and clinical work, the model distinguishes between three types of emotional pain: basic emotional pain, relational pain, and self-pain. The authors show how each type of emotional pain has not only distinct developmental etiology and evolutionary function, but also how each type requires a fundamentally different transformational process to be healed. Though clients experience all three types of pain in their life, usually one particular pain is dominant in the session. The model provides markers for identifying the active pain in the session, directing the therapist to one of three transformational paths. It thus provides a focus for the work, but also leaves plenty of room for intuitive moment-to-moment tracking of emerging experience. Although this new conceptual model emerged from the integration of the authors’ AEDP practice with EFT principles, pain dynamics can help to systematically select interventions and techniques from a variety of experiential models. Conceptualizing the active pain in the session combines the advantages of case conceptualization and moment to moment work of process formulation.