Goals of Emotionally Focused Therapy
EFT’s main goals are to expand and reorganize important emotional responses, implement and foster the creation of a secure bond between partners, and help shift each partner’s position of interaction while initiating new cycles of interaction that are more beneficial for the relationship. Emotionally focused therapy helps create secure and lasting bonds between partners and family members and strives to reinforce the positive bonds that already exist. EFT is a practical technique that has enormous success with couples, and can facilitate change in marriages and relationships that exhibit a wide range of challenges. EFT works to intervene where needed and create change to help relationships work more effectively through a spirit of harmony and respect.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
Emotionally focused therapy is generally a short-term (8-20 sessions) couples therapy approach, though it is also used with families. It has been found that 70 to 75 percent of couples effectively move from distress to recovery using EFT and approximately 90 percent of couples show significant improvement in their relationships. EFT has a basis in clear and explicit conceptualizations of adult love and marital/relational distress. It is a collaborative approach that respects clients and helps them implement new strategies called “change strategies” and interventions.