Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a short-term approach to counseling most often used for couples, but it also works with families and individuals. EFT emphasizes developing a stronger bond between two or more people. It examines interactions and how each individual contributes to undesirable behaviors that negatively affect their emotional bond.
EFT’s goal is to reduce distress and negative patterns in the relationship so people can grow closer and rebuild trust, love, and intimacy.
There are three distinct stages in Emotionally Focused Therapy:
De-Escalation – The therapist has people slow down their conversations and interactions to examine patterns in this stage. Is one person not expressing their emotions? Is one person avoidant? Is one person quick to anger? Your EFT therapist will hone in on these specific exchanges to help you understand what interaction and communication patterns lead to hurt feelings and disconnection.
Changing Interaction Patterns – This stage involves encouraging each person to communicate their feelings and needs. Your therapist will help you express empathy, even during tense interactions.
Consolidation – In this stage, you practice the skills you learned during counseling. This stage aims to integrate more desirable communication patterns in EFT sessions and real life.
Anyone interested in improving their interactions with loved ones could benefit from EFT.
Therapists Who Specialize in Using Emotionally Focused Therapy
Regardless of the particularities of our journey, opening ourselves to human connection within this journey is a courageous act. In my clinical experience with individuals and families from a variety of backgrounds and age brackets, I have witnessed the powerful impact of family and community systems on clients’ emotional experience of themselves. Over time, our relational experiences create...
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Life happens to each of us, and it’s how we choose to handle it that defines who we are. I believe that achieving mental, physical, spiritual and emotional balance, will lead to healing. We all deserve healing, despite the nature of our past. Hurt, hopelessness, fear, frustration, shame, confusion and sadness, can leave us feeling lost. Each healing journey requires intention and endurance and ...
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He is an EMDR-trained therapist who specializes in working with struggles surrounding sexuality, sexual trauma, and addiction. He also focuses on working with individual men and men’s therapy groups centered on the spiritual journey towards a whole, healthy, and fully integrated male identity encompassing all the various psychological parts of a man. Other areas of expertise include treating...
I am accepting new client via video conferencing both day and evening appointments. My specialty, as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, is assisting clients in managing their anxiety and stress. Anxiety symptoms include difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, irritability and physical symptoms such as, stomach aches, head aches, and muscl...
Regina offers a compassionate and wise presence, decades of experience, and a holistic set of skills, techniques, and strategies. She provides psychotherapy services that are trauma informed and include mindfulness, DBT, breathing techniques and relaxation while addressing somatic issues, Heal from trauma, anxiety, and depression by remembering who you are. Be free from suffering and life with...
I meet with couples, individuals, children, and adolescents for various mental health and relational issues. I have helped many people to make sense of difficult events and endure the disappointment to embrace hope and experience fulfillment in their personal, professional, and spiritual lives. I am also EMDR trained and help those experiencing PTSD. I practice hope-based therapy--believing...
I recognize the uniqueness of each person, couple, adolescent, and family. It is my goal to provide a safe and nurturing environment where one’s true self is free to be expressed. I believe in the power of the therapeutic relationship which can be curative in itself, which is why it is important to me to bring my most genuine self in order to have an authentic experience in session with my...
Life is hard. It did not come with a manual so we would know what to do when we are struggling. Knowing that there are people out there that can help is what makes therapy so important. I’ve had the pleasure of working with individuals, professionals, and families to address different mental health illnesses for the past five years. I believe that the best kind of therapy is one in which I work...
If you are tired of trying to manage the world and people around you, while failing in moving forward ? “Let’s change it together one session at a time.” I am a License Clinical Social Worker Therapist in Arkansas and Mississippi, who has worked as a Mental Health Professional Eastern Arkansas for over 9 years. I provide treatment for various mental disorders, including those developed from tra...
