Is the Concept of Corrective Emotional Experience Still Topical?

This article gives a historical review of the literature concerned with the role of emotional factors in psychoanalysis. The author then focuses on Alexander s milestone contribution and above all, on the concept he developed of corrective emotional experience. Alexander moves gradually over time from the classical position, which gives insight a place of choice, to a more radical view, in which, the most effective therapeutic factor is represented by the emotional experience within the therapeutic relationship. The article includes a review of the literature relevant to the concept of corrective emotional experience. Finally, Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy, a therapeutic approach giving a prominent role to the therapeutic power of corrective emotional experience is considered. Two vignettes from a psychotherapy carried out according to the principles of Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy provide examples of how this model is applied clinically.