Objective The present study constructed a preliminary process model of corrective emotional experience (CEE) in an integrative affect‐focused therapy. Method Task analysis was used to analyse 6 in‐session events taken from 6 Japanese clients who worked with an integrative affect‐focused therapist. The 6 events included 3 successful CEEs and 3 partially successful CEEs for comparison. Results A rational–empirical model of CEE was generated, which consisted of two parallel client change processes, intrapersonal change and interpersonal change, and the therapist interventions corresponding to each process. Therapist experiential interventions and therapist affirmation facilitated both intrapersonal and interpersonal change processes, whereas his relational interventions were associated with the interpersonal change process. The partially successful CEEs were differentiated by the absence of the component of core painful emotions or negative beliefs in intrapersonal change process, which seemed crucial for the interpersonal change process to develop. Conclusions CEE is best represented by a preliminary model that depicts two parallel yet interacting change processes. Intrapersonal change process is similar to the sequence of change described by the emotional processing model (Pascual‐Leone & Greenberg, ), whereas interpersonal change process is a unique contribution of this study. Interpersonal change process was facilitated when the therapist's active stance and use of immediacy responses to make their relational process explicit allowed a shared exploration. Therapist affirmation bridged intrapersonal change to interpersonal change by promoting an adaptive sense of self in clients and forging a deeper emotional connection between the two. Key Practitioner Message In‐session corrective emotional experience consists of intrapersonal and interpersonal change processes. The intrapersonal change process involved experiencing adaptive emotions such as grief. The interpersonal change process involved the processing of the relational experience in which the therapist and the client explicitly discussed the immediate feelings towards each other and the meaning of a new relational experience in the here and now. Therapist active stance as well as therapist affirmation responses that validate and support client resilience and strength facilitated both intrapersonal and interpersonal change.