In an Emotion‐focused approach emotion is seen as foundational in the construction of the self and is a key determinant of self‐organization. As well as having emotion people also live in a constant process of making sense of our emotions. Personal meaning is seen as emerging by the self‐organization and explication of one's own emotional experience and optimal adaptation involves an integration of reason and emotion. In this framework therapists are viewed as Emotion coaches who work to enhance emotion‐focused coping by helping people become aware of, accept and make sense of their emotional experience. Emotion coaching in therapy is based on two phases: Arriving and Leaving. A major premise is that one cannot leave a place until one has arrived at it. Three major empirically‐supported principles of Emotion Awareness, Emotion Regulation and Emotion Transformation that guide emotion coaching are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.