EFT – Creating Healthy Connections, LLC

What Is Emotionally Focused Therapy?

EFT typically involves a structured, short-term approach to couples therapy, spanning 18-20 sessions on a weekly basis. Formulated in the 1980s, EFT has evolved in tandem with the advancements in adult attachment and bonding science, contributing to a deeper comprehension of dynamics within couple relationships.

Over the last fifteen years, Dr. Johnson and her colleagues have further enhanced and refined the EFT therapy model, conducting numerous studies that underscore its effectiveness, establishing it as one of the most empirically validated relationship therapies globally. EFT is not limited to couples but is also applied in working with families and individuals.

Research studies validating EFT empirically indicate that 70-75% of couples transition from distress to recovery, with approximately 90% experiencing significant improvements. (For more details on EFT research, please refer to the EFT Research Menu.) There are specific contraindications for EFT, including ongoing emotional abuse, financial abuse, power and control issues, continued contact with the affair partner post-disclosure, and unresolved process or substance dependence problems.

EFT is applied across various settings, including private practice, university training centers, and hospital clinics, catering to diverse cultural groups worldwide. Couples in distress seeking EFT often include partners grappling with disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, and chronic illnesses.

Strengths of Emotionally Focused Therapy

EFT is based on clear, explicit conceptualizations of marital distress and adult love. These conceptualizations are supported by empirical research on the nature of marital distress and adult attachment.
EFT is collaborative and respectful of clients combining experiential Rogerian techniques with structural systemic interventions.
Change strategies and interventions are specified.
Key moves and moments in the change process have been mapped into nine steps and three change events.
EFT has been validated by over 30 years of empirical research. There is also research on the change processes and predictors of success.
EFT has been applied to many different kinds of problems and populations and found to be highly effective.

Goals of Emotionally Focused Therapy

To expand and re-organize key emotional responses between partners – thereby deepening the music of the dance of attachment.
To create a shift in partners’ negative interactional positions and initiate new positive cycles of interaction.
To foster the creation of a secure bond between partners

CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR EFT:

If there is ongoing domestic violence or physical aggression in the relationship, individual therapy is a more effective choice until they negative, aggressive cycles between the couple have subsided for approximately 6 months. There cannot be any court cases involving aggression at the time of the therapy, and should this occur during the therapy, the couple therapy will need to end therapy due safety reasons.

If you are ready to bridge the gap of disconnection and move towards a secure, loving, and fulfilling relationship, please contact CHC today.

Call 443-254-0686 or Email Now