Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a short-term psychotherapeutic intervention (8-20 sessions), primarily aimed at couples, but also adaptable to individuals and families.
This intervention, developed since 1980 by Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg, originates from the scientifically supported belief in attachment theory that individual well-being and the ability to best face and manage problems increase if we feel supported by another person and connected to them in a secure relationship. What makes us strong is therefore not being independent and self-sufficient but, on the contrary, being “effectively dependent” on another person, in the sense of knowing how to ask for help in order to receive emotional support.
In a couple, therefore, difficulties arise when, seeing their bond threatened, the two partners are unable to generate a secure emotional connection that allows them to ask for help and support. On the contrary, they engage in a dysfunctional and painful “dance” of rigid reciprocal responses, both emotionally and behaviorally, which keeps them blocked and unable to resolve their conflicts.
The methodology is based on proposing and guiding conversations between partners: during the intervention, the therapist encourages and facilitates mutual dialogue, promoting on one hand the expression of respective needs, emotions, and requests for support, and on the other hand, the accessibility, listening skills, and emotional responsiveness to what is expressed by the partner.
The main objectives are:
- to make partners aware of reciprocal emotional responses and the vicious cycles that trigger, generating suffering
- to reorganize emotional responses, generating new ways of interacting and creating permanent positive change
- to create a solid bond between partners, where each is the “safe haven” for the other
EFT is a proven effective intervention: research results indicate that 70-75% of couples reduce their distress and about 90% show significant improvements. It is also based on attachment theory and emotions, which are widely supported by empirical research.
