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
During this unprecedented time of social distancing and living through a pandemic, people are experiencing higher levels of depression, anxiety and isolation. Teenagers and our older population and suffering trying to adjust to this new norm. Parents are now juggling work, home schooling and their stresses. Tele-health therapy can be a helpful tool. Taking the first step into counseling is a br...
Accepting new clients now!! I work with clients who are ready to take charge in their lives and work towards improvements. Clients who realize that sometimes in life we need a little extra help to manage tough situations. I like working from a strengths perspective in order to help clients create goals and reach them with a set of new skills mixed with ones they already have. I want to help...
Tyson is a tele-health therapist who is passionate about working with people who find themselves in a place where they have suffered enough and desire true change. Therapy is a process that reveals the bright light within every person that is so often obstructed by pain and egoic defenses. He believes in the healing power of relationships that enable us to feel seen, soothed, loved and safe and...
Our hearts long for authentic connection to ourselves and others - and the sense of aliveness that results from being truly ourselves as we relate. Sometimes, however, reactive patterns arise and displace our competent adult functioning with unregulated emotional states such as anxiety, anger, insecurity, or depression. Often there is no context or overt memory associated with such experiences,...
Are you feeling tired, emotionally disconnected, and or daily life stressors impacting your relationship with self and others? As a counselor, I value strength in individuals to overcome personal challenges. I have an understanding of how much traumatic events and intergenerational trauma translates into our daily life and habits. Therapy can be helpful throughout many transitions, decisions,...
You deserve to feel connected and safe in your closest relationships. It is lonely, painful, and frustrating when those relationships aren't going as you'd like. You may be confused about how to help a child who is struggling. You might wonder if you're making the right choices for your child and you may even worry that you're a bad parent. Or, maybe you feel disconnected from a partner. You lo...
If you are an individual, couple or family wanting to improve your relationship with yourself or others to build better communication, boundaries and assertiveness you came to the right place. My sessions are 60-90 minutes long, depending on what is needed or preferred. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and specialize in working with those who are at a crossroads in their life and...
Sometimes it feels as if we lost our way; our closest relationships are a constant source of conflict and loneliness, and we struggle to find true connections, clarity, confidence, hope, and peace. It does not need to be that way. You can be seen and loved for who you really are, and you can count on yourself and others through the ups and downs of life. I enjoy guiding people through that jour...
Life is too short to ask yourself “What if”. It is easy to find ourselves wrestling with the disconnection of former or current relationships in our lives. Perhaps you are finding yourself stuck spinning in the "what ifs" in your head. Unfortunately, these thoughts are where we can find some of our greatest discomfort in our day to day. C.S Lewis once said, "You can’t go back and change the...
I believe that people are remarkably resilient and have an innate capacity for self-healing. Psychotherapy can be a rewarding experience that generates self-awareness, healing, and personal growth. The therapy I offer helps alleviate painful experiences like depression, anxiety, loneliness and relationship conflict. I value my relationship and rapport with my clients and know that the therapeut...
*I am not able to accept new clients at this time* “I’m tired of dealing with this. I need help.” There's a set of unwanted guests stuck at your emotional table: Fear. Guilt. Regret. Anger. These guests are stopping you from being present and making the most of having more flexibility with being at home with your family. Safety and security have taken a vacation with current events. Most nights...
Hi and welcome to my page. I work with individuals who are struggling with low motivation, low self-esteem, past trauma, perfectionism, feeling lost, impostor syndrome and a pursuit to find a more meaningful and passionate life. I specialize in working with couples who are struggling with emotional connection, intimacy, infidelity and lack of communication. I work with couples to increase secur...
I help people (men, women, LGBTQ+, teens) transcend trauma and painful patterns, to help them uncover their potential and lead a joyful life. While we cannot change the past, I utilize EMDR and other techniques to reduce the disturbance that past events have on your mind and body. I am person-centered therapist who believes that my clients are the experts in their own lives. I will meet you whe...
Mike graduated from Adler University with a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Illinois. Mike has worked with individuals, families, intimate partners, adolescents, and children on many issues including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, communication, conflict resolution, emotional regulation, Autism spectrum...
Are you weighed down by worries, regrets, traumas, hurt, or pain? Everyone has a story and should have the opportunity to tell it in a non-judgmental environment. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and my areas of expertise include young through older adults with trauma, depression, anxiety, and substance use/co-occurring disorders. As an eclectic, person-centered therapist I believe...
