A young woman had repeatedly been sexually abused by her father when she was a child and sought therapy to deal with that trauma. Early on, whenever she began describing the abuse, or remembering similarly invasive experiences in her life, she began trembling in her arms and upper torso, sometimes violently. There was also an intense flushing of her face. When this would happen, the therapist began to focus the discussion on her flushing of the face. The patient would respond by talking about how the therapist must view her as a damaged mess when observing the bodily reaction; however, the therapist consistently disconfirmed that belief every time by expressing understanding and empathy of why the bodily reactions occurred. Gradually, the bodily reactions became less and less severe, and the patient began to speak about the terror of those experiences without the intrusion of the shaking.
indicate which approach to psychotherapy is being described; psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, or cognitive.