What Is EFT?
Emotionally Focused Therapy, otherwise known as EFT, is a therapeutic approach specifically focused on relationships, developing deeper connections, and bonding. Though EFT was initially developed for counseling couples, it has been expanded into both individual and family counseling, as it is particularly effective for clients who have experienced betrayal or trauma in their close relationships. The goal of EFT is to enhance trust and strengthen the bonds with one another.
For couples struggling with frequent conflict and communication, EFT allows each partner to explore emotions and overcome insecurities to end the negative cycle of interaction. And with increased trust and intimacy, EFT gives people an opportunity to establish new, healthier communication patterns.
Is EFT effective?
EFT blends humanistic approaches with attachment theory to stress the importance of our relationships as a central influence on our mental health.
Drs. Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg first conceptualized Emotionally Focused Therapy in the mid-1980s as they studied couples during sessions and noticed the systems being created between partners. When positive interactions fostered a sense of safety during therapeutic sessions, partners were able to manage their stress response more effectively.
Since then, EFT has been supported by extensive research. Today, couples therapists across the globe use Emotionally Focused Therapy to help their clients overcome conflict and enhance their emotional connection. EFT is among the most empirically validated therapeutic approaches, and it is considered the gold standard of marriage counseling. In fact, a 19-year study of EFT concluded that EFT is an effective treatment for improving relationship satisfaction.
How Does EFT Work?
EFT is highly structured. In 8 to 20 sessions, clients work to identify and de-escalate patterns of conflict and strengthen their bond. Once both partners acknowledge the self-reinforcing pattern of negativity existing at the core of their conflict, they can begin the process of rebuilding their interactions and creating more positive interactions. This allows couples to feel more secure in their attachment to one another, improving their ability to communicate and problem-solve together.
By increasing trust and emotional awareness, clients using EFT become better, more engaged listeners. More aware of their partner’s needs, couples can learn to discuss issues from a place of empathy rather than one of defensiveness and anger. Beneath the negative interactions in a relationship is a fear. When this fear is explored in Emotionally Focused Therapy, couples can transform conflict into connection and intimacy.
The therapist’s role in Emotionally Focused Therapy is to guide couples in their interactions with one another. By facilitating a safe, neutral environment where clients can become vulnerable, an EFT therapist is able to observe the relationship dynamic and help each partner discover emotions they didn’t even know they had. Because more immediate responses are likely to block couples from understanding core emotions and experiences, EFT can help each partner gain essential perspective on themselves and each other.
Emotionally Focused Therapy At The Relationship Suite
At the Relationship Suite in New York City and New Jersey, we are experts in couples therapy and relationship counseling. Whether you’re a new couple, encountering ongoing setbacks in your marriage, or navigating a breakup, we are here to enhance the experience of love in your life.
For our clients who experience frequent conflict and disconnection, Emotionally Focused Therapy can help them peel back the tension to identify the core wounds keeping them stuck in negative interactions. And for individuals, our therapists are likely to incorporate elements of EFT to enhance self-awareness and security.
There is more to your fights than just immediate responses—at the root of your feelings is a desire for connection. Emotionally Focused Therapy allows you and your partner to escape unhealthy patterns and develop a new and improved bond. Working together in therapy, we can help heal your relationship.
Let Us Help You Build Secure, Loving Connections
At The Relationship Suite, our clinicians in New York and New Jersey use Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help couples and individuals overcome conflict and achieve satisfaction in their relationships.
To schedule a free consultation with one of our online EFT therapists, please call (917) 273 – 8836 or contact us via our site.
