“That chair work thing was great”: a pilot study of group-based emotion-focused therapy for anxiety and depression

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based treatment for depression and it has shown promise for the treatment of anxiety. Only one other published study has examined EFT in a group therapy setting. Using mixed-methods, the current study explored the feasibility and outcomes of an EFT group with adults referred for anxiety and depression. Pre-, post-, and 12-month follow-up measures of depression, anxiety, and difficulties in emotion regulation were administered in addition to a semi-structured interview at one-year follow-up. The analysis of individual interviews suggested improvements in various areas of functioning and quantitative data revealed a significant decrease in emotion regulation difficulties. The results of this study provide preliminary support for the application and further study of group-based EFT for clinical presentations of anxiety and depression.