Emotion Skills: The foundation for therapy and good mental health
Therapy goes faster and feels safer when you can notice feelings, put words to them, and work with them without getting overwhelmed.
These are learnable skills, not personality traits you either have or don’t.
What we mean by emotion skills
Emotion skills are the practical abilities that help you relate to your inner experience with clarity and care.
Emotional awareness
Noticing internal cues and telling emotions apart (instead of only sensing “something’s wrong”).
Emotion language
Having words for what you feel, so you can think clearly and communicate accurately.
Regulation
Downshifting overwhelm and making room for choice, not forcing yourself to be calm.
Beliefs about emotions
Learning that emotions are signals, not weaknesses, and that you can handle what you feel.
Neurodivergences & Emotion Skills
Emotions show up differently across people and neurotypes. This table highlights a few commonly reported patterns.
| Profile | AlexithymiaEmotional awareness | RegulationEmotion regulation | EmpathyPerspective-taking | ExecutiveFunctioning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADHD | ◐ | ● | ◐ | ● |
| Autism (ASD) | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| AuDHD | ● | ● | ◐ | ● |
| CEN* | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| HSP* | ◐ | ◐ | ● | ◐ |
| Trauma / CPTSD | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| Anxiety / Depression & Perfectionism | ◐ | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
Research references
Selected peer-reviewed sources supporting the main patterns summarized in this table.
- Kinnaird, Stewart, & Tchanturia (2019): Investigating alexithymia in autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- McDonald et al. (2024): Emotion dysregulation in autism: A meta-analysis
- Song et al. (2019): Empathy impairment in autism spectrum conditions from a multidimensional perspective: A meta-analysis
- Milton (2012): On the ontological status of autism: The “double empathy problem”
- Crompton et al. (2020): Neurotype-matching (not autistic status) influences ratings of interpersonal rapport
- Beheshti et al. (2020): Emotion dysregulation in adults with ADHD: a meta-analysis
- Edwards (2022): Posttraumatic stress and alexithymia: A meta-analysis of presentation and severity
- Khan & Jaffee (2022): Alexithymia in individuals maltreated as children and adolescents: a meta-analysis
- Somerville et al. (2024): Emotion controllability beliefs and young people’s anxiety and depression: A systematic review
- Acevedo et al. (2018): Sensory processing sensitivity brain circuits review
* CEN (Childhood Emotional Neglect) is an experience; HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) is a temperament trait. They’re included because support needs often overlap with neurodivergent profiles.
Want a gentle way to build these?
We can help you practice noticing, naming, and working with emotions, in a way that feels steady, not performative.