45. Strength: Unbrokenness, Loss and Compassion

What Is Balance Psychotherapy?

Balance Psychotherapy is an integrative, trauma-informed approach developed by Kasia Makuch-Cole. It combines psychodynamic understanding, nervous system regulation, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), bilateral EMDR-inspired tapping, mindfulness, and Gendlin’s Focusing. The method supports people in connecting with their inner world, recognising emotional patterns, and restoring balance between thoughts, feelings, and body sensations.

The core idea is simple: when we learn to regulate the nervous system and bring balance to difficult affect, emotional healing becomes possible. Balance Psychotherapy teaches clients how to work with emotions directly in the body, rather than only through thinking or analysis.

How to Balance Affect?

Balancing affect means bringing emotional intensity—whether too high or too low—back into a tolerable, steady state. In Balance Psychotherapy, this is done through:

1. Naming the Feeling
   Gently acknowledge the emotion (“sadness,” “fear,” “anger,” “shame,” etc.) without judgement.

2. Locating the Sensation
   Notice where the feeling shows up in the body—chest, stomach, throat, shoulders, etc.

3. Finding the Opposite Affect
   Every overwhelming emotion has an opposite quality that can help regulate it.

   • Fear ↔ Safety

   • Shame ↔ Worthiness

   • Anger ↔ Softness or Calm

   • Emptiness ↔ Warmth or Connection

4. Bringing in the Opposite
   Sense the opposite quality in the body through imagery, breath, or gentle attention. This helps shift the emotional state and widen the Window of Tolerance.

5. Using Tapping for Integration

   • Bilateral tapping (Butterfly Hug) calms hyperarousal.

   • Rhythmic single-point tapping grounds hypoarousal.
     Tapping helps the brain process emotions safely and reduces overwhelm.

6. Letting the Body Respond
   As the nervous system settles, the emotion becomes easier to hold, understand, and work through.

   
   

   🍃 www.balance-psychotherapy.org🍃 Emotional Regulation Therapy Journal - Balance & Clarity Series by Kasia Makuch-Cole also available on Amazon.