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
Hello and welcome. Asking for help for yourself or a loved one can be difficult. Sharing your life, thoughts and feelings with a complete stranger is even more difficult. That is why I believe that it is important to build a strong foundation of trust and help you feel comfortable and safe enough to share your story and life experiences with me. Finding a good fit with a therapist is very...
I specialize in attachment issues in couple and family relationships. Relationship issues can lead to feeling disconnected, isolated, or misunderstood and so my primary goal is to help my clients cultivate healthy relationships with their significant other, family members, and friends. My clients benefit from learning to resolve conflicts, improve listening and communication, work through...
Chris Miller is a caring professional who listens and works closely with you to develop solutions for your unique needs. Chris is a Licensed Professional Counselor and completed his PhD in December 2017. Chris holds an M.S. in Counseling and Human Development from Radford University as well as a Certificate of Advanced Studies from Hollins University. Chris operates with a person-centered focus...
( English | español ) The couples I work with are struggling. At first glance they may seem fine – smiling and happy – but they cannot stop arguing. They know they love their person but they feel so stuck. It HURTS. They long to feel understood, to know that their person is “with them”, and they want to know they are not alone. They want to find a way to make their relationship work but they do...
Insight Counseling Center offers counseling services to individuals, adolescents, children, couples, families and groups. In order to effectively meet the needs of our diverse clientele, our therapists represent a wide variety of clinical experiences, specializations, and personal backgrounds. In addition to traditional "talk therapy", many of our therapists are trained to employ such technique...
I've spent the past two decades specializing in work with relationships, adolescents, families, couples, parenting, women's and men's issues, communication and other areas that affect our ability to lead our most productive lives. I work with people struggling with daily life issues as well as with anxiety, panic disorder, depression, ADHD and many other mental-health diagnoses. I also provide...
Hello I am a Couples and Family Therapist. My approach emphasizes the importance of working with a couple and family as a system that influence one another. To facilitate healthy relationships, I use therapies that promote positive interactions between individuals. My methods include trans-generational, structural family therapy, cognitive-behavioral approaches, and emotionally focused therapy....
My goal is to provide a supportive and safe environment for individuals, couples and families as we work together moving through some of life's difficulties. We collaborate to help identify goals you would like to achieve to help you move forward in ways which are beneficial to your personal growth. I specialize in working with families who have been affected by the disease of addiction. Most...
Exploring our losses, challenges and fears, as well as our successes and strengths, can be both difficult and rewarding. I seek to create an open, accepting and creative environment for this exploration. We can look to understand your goals and challenges, as well as develop more immediate skills in managing disruptive symptoms. In our first session we can discuss what brings you to therapy now...
Erica's mission is to treat each person with compassion, kindness and respect. Her therapy style is integrative and eclectic and she works to meet each client where they are in their journey while helping to motivate and encourage positive change and personal growth. Erica's client-centered approach to therapy includes a broad range of techniques, such as psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, an...
I am very passionate about helping Women on their journey of self-empowerment and change. I have over 10 years of experience helping adolescents, women, and families with their goals by helping teach the tools needed for success. I have worked with a wide range of individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, abandonment, low self-esteem, and helplessness. I work with couples as well as familie...
My speciality is serving pre-teens, adolescents and adults. Pulling from a myriad of treatment modalities, my approach is to treat the individual and family system in a holistic manner. I take pride in creating a supportive, warm and empathic environment for healing and growth. I believe that the client-therapist relationship is paramount to having a nonjudgmental and safe space....
The focus of my practice is to provide individual office based therapy for individuals and families if needed. My focus is on cognitive behavioral therapy as a way to manage how one thinks and understands the choices they make, the behaviors they choose to engage in as well as the feelings/emotions that they present with in reaction to triggering stimuli. Experience with multiple behavioral and...
I have been working with individuals and families for 20 years and I focus on helping others nagivate relationships, family stressors and life challenges that may be impacted by anxiety and depression. I work with adults individually, in couples as well as family therapy sessions....
