Emotions are the energy that drive us and the compass that leads us where we truly want to be. They are the colors we use to paint the artwork that is our life, and the waves we surf to feel. But we live in a time where so many of us have lost the capacity to use our emotions as a resource. Instead, many are overwhelmed, sadly winding up running away from life.
Emotionally-Focused Psychotherapy (EFT) is a highly effective therapeutic approach designed to address and transform the negative emotional patterns that often underlie relational difficulties. Rooted in attachment theory, EFT helps individuals, couples, and families create secure emotional bonds, fostering a sense of safety and intimacy that can lead to more satisfying and resilient relationships.
EFT is grounded in attachment theory, which posits that humans are inherently relational beings with a deep-seated need for secure connections with significant others. Secure attachments are foundational to our well-being, providing a safe haven in times of distress and a secure base from which to explore the world. EFT aims to strengthen these attachment bonds, helping individuals feel more secure, valued, and connected in their relationships.
Emotionally-Focused Psychotherapy places a strong emphasis on emotions, viewing them as powerful agents of change. By exploring and validating emotional experiences, EFT helps individuals understand their own and their partner’s emotional responses, fostering empathy and deepening emotional bonds. Emotions are not seen as problematic in themselves, but rather, it is the negative patterns of emotional reactivity that can erode relationship bonds with self and others.
EFT aims to identify and transform negative interaction patterns that are rooted in insecure attachment. These patterns, often characterized by criticism, defensiveness, or withdrawal, can create a vicious cycle of disconnection. Through EFT, individuals learn to respond to each other in ways that promote security, closeness, and vulnerability, breaking the cycle of negativity and fostering a more positive, supportive relationship dynamic.
The EFT Process includes creating a safe therapeutic space, identifying and exploring emotional patterns that reveal themselves in the therapy, facilitating emotional engagement, and ultimately consolidating the changes and integrating them to a more resilient self. As you learn new ways of relating and responding to others, we will ensure that the new, positive interaction patterns become the norm rather than the exception.
Emotionally-Focused Psychotherapy offers a transformative approach to healing relationships and fostering secure emotional bonds. By addressing the deep-seated emotional patterns that underlie relational difficulties, EFT helps individuals, couples, and families create more satisfying, resilient relationships, enriched by a sense of security, closeness, and connection.
