Abstract

KERBAUY, Rachel Rodrigues. Emotions in health and illness: are they a trap or the description of a process?. Temas psicol. [online]. 2002, vol.10, n.1, pp. 63-70. ISSN 1413-389X.

Several psychological theories explain emotions and feelings; some of these theories try to present models which make them more understandable for researchers and professionals. The behaviorist therapists who have a radical approach consider what people feel as important as what they do, because it clarifies the role that past and present environments represent in their life. However, describing physical conditions taking into consideration an emotional viewpoint is the result of stimuli operations, and, thus, the contingencies analysis allowa the specific process to be comprehended. Emotion is a condition of the organism that alters several behaviors, in its frequency and form, and, due to that, both therapist and client will have to search for the environmental relations established by the client. We intend to discuss these questions by offering clinical examples and support from the literature.

Keywords : emotion; behaviorist therapy; functional analysis.

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