Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, a psychologist who believed in the importance of understanding emotion to create change in intimate relationships. EFT has over 30 years of research to support its effectiveness in relieving relationship distress. It has been shown to support diverse clients with issues ranging from infidelity to depression.
EFT is rooted in John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory. Attachment Theory simply asserts that people have a need to connect and bond to one another. Bonds helps people to feel safe and secure. A disruption to one’s sense of safety and security in a close relationship can lead to relationship issues.
EFT is a respectful therapy focused on understanding how people respond to a disrupted sense of safety and security. This often looks like couples getting caught in unproductive cycles that do the not help them resolve disruption and repair their bond. A common pattern is one partner who pursues disagreement with another withdrawing from the conflict. An example of this is a critical or blaming partner who pursues to address disagreement ,while the other partner in an attempt to calm things down avoids discussion or walks away. Sometimes couples stay in cycles for so long that both partners respond to one another with “attacking” moves or the opposite, they both withdraw to distant positions or living like roommates.
EFT starts by meeting couples where they are, by addressing the unproductive cycle. Not by sending couples out in the world to apply “this or that” exercises or techniques that can be tossed out the window when frustration sets in.
In a study by Dr. Sue Johnson and colleagues, EFT demonstrated a 70–73% recovery rate for relationship distress, with 90% of couples showing significant improvement over controls.
