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Strengths of EFT

As described in The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connections (Susan Johnson, 2004)

• EFT’s assumptions, strategies, and interventions are clearly specified and delineated.  It is a brief therapeutic approach, usually implemented in 8-20 session; is replicable; and has been used to train numerous practicing couple therapists in the USA, Australia, South East Asia and other countries.
• EFT couple therapy has substantial empirical support for its effectiveness with general and specific populations of couples in distress.  It has provided the basis for considerable research on the process of change and the key change events and client variables associated with treatment success.  This allows therapists to match clients to treatments and tailor treatments to particular clients.
• The process of treatment is clearly outlined in 3 stages and 9 steps.
• EFT approach is grounded in a clear theoretical base.  This base consists of a theory of change which arises from a synthesis of humanistic experiential therapy and systems theory, and second, a theory of love, which is viewed as an attachment process.  Both adult attachment theory and experiential interventions have a substantial and growing research base (Cassidy & Shaver, 1999; Elliot, 2002; cited in Johnson, 2004).
• EFT is applicable to many different clients and is used for a wide variety of couples and partners including couples experiencing chronic stress or trauma.
• EFT interventions “are extremely congruent with recent empirical studies on the nature of marital distress, which focus on the nature of rigid interactional patterns and compelling negative affect, and studies on the nature of adult attachment’ (Johnson, 2004; p9)
• The 3 stages and 9 steps of EFT are clearly manualized; with therapeutic strategies and skills described in detail.  Predictive interactions in specific stages of therapy are outlined, and therapist interventions to overcome ‘roadblocks’ to recovery and carefully outlined.

All information regarding EFT is quoted for paraphrased from ‘The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connections’ (Johnson, S.M., 2004) or ‘Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors: Strengthening Attachment Bonds’ (Johnson, S.M., 2002).  This information represents to basic tenets of EFT and any errors are unintentional.

Delegates are strongly recommended to pre-read ‘The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connections’ available on order at Archive Book Store, Claremont, prior to the workshop.

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