Abstract
The aim of this research was to study the effects of an Emotional Awareness Training Programme, based on Emotion-Focused Therapy, on the optimism levels of young adults. The experimental and control groups of this research consisted of twenty four young adults. In the study, an Optimism Scale was used in order to determine the optimism levels of these young adults. Both the experimental and control groups were given the scale as a pre-test and a post-test. A set of activities, generated by the principles and techniques of Emotion-Focused Therapy, were applied to the experimental group for ten weeks. There were no studies conducted within the control group. The Mann-Whitney U Test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were used to find out if there were any differences between the Optimism Scale pre and post-test scores, which were applied to the experimental and control groups at the end of the sessions. At the end of the statistical analysis, it was observed that Emotional Awareness Training created a significant difference in theyoung adults' levels of optimism. According to this finding, it has been concluded that an Emotional Awareness Training Programme, based on Emotion-Focused Therapy, raises the optimism levels of young adults.
Keywords: Emotion, Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Emotion-Focused Therapy