Which therapy emphasizes the premise that emotions are central to identity?

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The main idea here is that emotions are treated as the core driver of who we are and how we change. Emotion-Focused Therapy centers the therapeutic process on emotional experience, viewing feelings as the primary source of information about our needs, relationships, and sense of self. By helping clients access, understand, and transform their emotions—distinguishing authentic primary emotions from protective secondary ones—the therapy aims to reshape how individuals interpret themselves and their world, leading to an integrated and more authentic identity. This contrasts with approaches that focus more on changing thoughts (cognitive beliefs), behaviors, or self-concept in a broader sense, rather than placing emotion at the heart of identity and change.