Emotionally Focused Therapy

Emotionally Focused Therapy

Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is a short-term (8-20 sessions) structured psychotherapy approach to working with individuals, couples and families. It includes elements of experiential, person-centered, constructivist, and systems theory, but is firmly established in attachment theory.

Emotionally focused therapy proposes that emotions themselves have an innately adaptive potential that, if activated, can help clients change problematic emotional states or unwanted self-experiences. Emotions themselves do not inhibit the therapeutic process, but people’s incapability to manage emotions and use them well is seen as the problem. Emotions are connected to our most essential needs. They rapidly alert us to situations important to our advancement. They also prepare and guide us in these important situations to take action towards meeting our needs. Clients undergoing EFT are helped to better identify, experience, explore, make sense of, transform and flexibly manage their emotional experiences.