Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is a therapeutic approach that is based on the belief that emotions are strongly linked to identity and guide us in defining preferences and making decisions on a daily basis. EFT assumes that a lack of emotional awareness is harmful and avoiding emotions can lead to negative outcomes in life. The therapy aims to help individuals increase their awareness and acceptance of their feelings and translate their emotions into helpful information as a way of preventing negative outcomes. EFT is a short-term, structured approach that was originally developed for couple therapy and is based on attachment science. The therapy integrates a humanistic, experiential approach to restructuring emotional experience and a systemic structural approach to restructuring interactions.
EFT is generally thought to have been successful when the person in treatment has an increased awareness of their emotional experience, an improved ability to regulate emotions, and is better able to transform unhelpful emotions. The therapy is beneficial in a variety of scenarios, including anxiety, depression, and relationship distress.
In EFT, the therapist and the person in therapy collaborate in an active process, with both viewed as equal contributors. The person in treatment, not the therapist, is seen as the person most capable of interpreting their emotional experience. EFT therapists help patients approach, accept, tolerate, and symbolize emotions rather than avoid them. The therapy has been broken into three major phases, each with a set of steps to describe its course over time.
Overall, EFT is a therapeutic approach that aims to help individuals increase their emotional awareness and acceptance, translate their emotions into helpful information, and improve their ability to regulate emotions. It is a short-term, structured approach that was originally developed for couple therapy and is based on attachment science. EFT has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety, depression, and relationship distress.
