Affect regulation theory is a theory that explains how individuals regulate their emotions in order to maintain emotional balance and well-being. It suggests that individuals have different ways of regulating their emotions, which can be either adaptive or maladaptive.
According to affect regulation theory, there are three main ways to regulate emotions:
- Reappraisal: This involves changing the way an individual thinks about a situation in order to change their emotional response. For example, reframing a negative event in a positive light.
- Suppression: This involves intentionally hiding or repressing one's emotions. This can be maladaptive, as it can lead to bottled up emotions that may eventually come out in an unhealthy way.
- Expression: This involves expressing one's emotions in a healthy way, such as through talking or writing about them. This can be adaptive, as it allows individuals to process and understand their emotions.
Affect regulation theory suggests that individuals with certain mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, may have difficulty in regulating their emotions, and may rely on maladaptive regulation strategies.
Therapies that aim to improve affect regulation, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or mindfulness-based therapies, can be beneficial for those individuals to improve emotional regulation and overall well-being.
Alan Schore is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychiatrist who has extensively studied the relationship between attachment, emotional regulation and the brain, particularly the role of the right hemisphere.
Schore suggests that the right hemisphere of the brain, which is involved in the processing of emotion, plays a crucial role in the regulation of emotions during early childhood development. He argues that the right hemisphere is particularly important for the regulation of positive and negative emotions, and for the ability to form and maintain attachment relationships.
Schore argues that during the first two years of life, the right hemisphere plays a dominant role in the regulation of emotions and the formation of attachment relationships. He suggests that the right hemisphere is particularly important in the regulation of the "positive" emotions associated with attachment, such as joy, contentment, and pleasure.
Schore also argues that disruptions in the attachment relationship during early childhood can lead to difficulties in emotional regulation and the development of mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. He suggests that therapy that emphasizes the repair of attachment relationships, such as mentalization-based therapy (MBT), can be beneficial for individuals with emotional regulation difficulties.
Schore's work highlights the importance of understanding the role of the brain in emotional regulation and attachment, and how disruptions in these processes can lead to mental health difficulties. It also emphasizes the importance of early interventions and the repair of attachment relationships in therapy, in order to improve emotional regulation and overall well-being.