Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Emotionally Focused Therapy (or EFT) is a highly effective form of therapy grounded in attachment science, which highlights that relationships are fundamental to our survival. Relationships regulate everything in our lives, from our mood to our physiology. So, when our bonds are secure, we tend to be happier, healthier, and more at peace with ourselves.
This Is Why
This is why the ability to communicate and understand our emotions is so important! Emotions are our bodies’ most basic form of data communication, allowing us to signal, respond, and come into resonance with one another. But we all have seasons when life gets hard and our most effective signals stop getting success, or only seem to make things worse.
EFT provides an unrivaled roadmap for healing with priority given to emotions and emotion regulation as key agents of change. This roadmap of emotions can help us develop a more secure sense of who we are, who we can trust, and who we can rely on. EFT is not a quick fix—instead, it’s all about getting to the heart of your pain to create meaningful change that lasts.
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How Effective Is EFT And How Did It Come About?
In a 2022 meta-analysis of EFT, researchers found that of 330 couples studied, 70 percent were symptom free at the end of EFT treatment.
EFT is based on the neuroscience of attachment. It was created by the renowned psychologist Sue Johnson after watching video footage of thousands of her own therapy sessions. Her goal was to observe what she had done with couples and figure out: what creates bonding events in a couple’s patterns of interacting? What helps them pull toward each other? What enhances closeness and comfort in their relationship?
In this way, EFT is not some abstract, theoretical approach to therapy—it is a very organic process that’s based on real-life observation and hard science. It looks at what works in relationships and why, based on our brain and body, and then replicates that process in therapy to help clients achieve success. EFT creates a predictable process of repair that allows individuals and couples to regulate difficult emotions, build resilience, and experience healthy, secure bonds.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy is an empirically-validated approach supported by decades of research, and it’s been shown to help individuals, couples, and families with a wide range of concerns (1). To hear an overview of EFT from Sue Johnson herself, we highly recommend watching her introductory video.
At Sacred Ground Psychotherapy, we use Emotionally Focused Therapy to help individuals and couples suffering from disconnection, betrayal, loss, anxiety, depression, and trauma. We’ve found the approach to be incredibly versatile and effective because of its ability to access the deeper parts of the human experience and promote healthy communication.
How Does EFT Treatment Work?
The first step of EFT is to come alongside your experiences so that we can better understand what relationships and life have taught you about going towards or away from emotions, and going towards or away from important people in your life. For example, if you've had unsafe or hurtful experiences in life, you may have learned to withdraw or isolate as a means to protect yourself.
On the other hand, maybe you've learned to reach or push for connections as a way to regulate the loud storm of emotions inside of you. Although these protective patterns may have served you in the past, they may be holding you back from healthy connections in the present.
The Goal
The goal of EFT is to update how you understand the wisdom of your body, and explore the options available to you. Think of it like running an update on a computer. In order for a computer to operate successfully, it has to be updated from time to time. Our relationships are no different. Most of our early childhood relationships give us a roadmap of emotion, and EFT focuses on expanding that roadmap based on new knowledge that we gain throughout our lives.
In counseling sessions, this often means helping clients catch their natural reactions to fear, disconnection, pain and conflict. For instance, if you find yourself getting critical or defensive, we’ll help you stop and ask yourself: Why do these critical and defensive behaviors make you feel safe? What experiences taught your body that reacting this way is helpful? How can we update your responses so that they’re more in line with your values? In this way, we’re looking to help clients live in a way that’s more consistent with who they want to be in the world.
Heal The Root Of The Pain
Ultimately, if you're looking to deepen your relationships, manage difficult emotions, and cultivate confidence amidst the ups and downs of life, EFT can help with tools designed to bring you stable, lasting change.
Compassionate
We'll meet you at your starting point and help make sense of even the toughest pain.
Relational
Everything in life feels better when shared. We'll help you build stronger connections with the important people around you.
Meaningful
We're here to help you reach your goals and are committed to ongoing learning, so we can be the best therapist for you.
How Can EFT Make A Difference In Your Life?
EFT helps clients focus on the depth of their experience. It goes beyond communication strategies and solution-based approaches to facilitate deep emotional processing and the creation of secure relationships with ourselves and others.
Part of what makes EFT so effective is that it leans into the way the brain was designed to optimally function, beginning with emotional organization and regulation before creatively problem solving. EFT helps clients get emotionally regulated so that they can develop new solutions themselves. Instead of trying to bypass distress, they learn to manage distress, allowing them to operate from a calmer, more thoughtful place. This enables them to be more in tune with their emotions and live more in line with their values.
Our clinic specializes in EFT due to its validated process of change, its integration of emotion and the neuroscience of attachment, and our own experience of seeing it work with adults and couples since 2017. We are dedicated to ongoing learning and development in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and all our providers are trained through the International Center for Excellence in EFT (ICEEFT).
If you want to experience the healing power of EFT in your own life and build healthy, lifelong connections, we encourage you to pursue counseling and book a session with us. We look forward to working with you!
