Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

An evidence-based approach proven to help you understand emotional patterns and create secure, lasting connections.

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What is Emotionally Focused Therapy?

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) offers a modern way of understanding love relationships and their primary source of distress.

I am a Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist, but the practice originated and was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson in the 1980s, EFT is proven by research to be effective in creating lasting change for couples in distress, with 70-75% of couples moving from distress to recovery and improvement in 90% of couples receiving EFT therapy.

Is this right for me?

EFT can benefit couples, families, and individuals experiencing:

  • High conflict and fighting

  • Disconnection where one or both partners are withdrawn

  • Affairs or other betrayal

  • Mental health concerns (depression, anxiety, trauma/PTSD)

  • Serious illness

  • Sexual concerns

  • Needs not being met

  • Attachment insecurities in relationships

  • Desire to understand relationship patterns

  • Need for deeper emotional connection

EFT is rooted in Attachment Theory, which shows that we have innate needs to be Available, Responsive, and Emotionally Engaged (ARE) with our partners.

The primary source of distress between couples is when the answers to these ARE needs are increasingly "no." This leads to predictable negative cycles where both partners protest disconnection through criticism/demands or by withdrawing.

I help you understand and interrupt these cycles, uncover the emotions and attachment needs underneath, and develop new ways of connecting that promote safety and intimacy.

two glasses of water sit on a coffee table during a couples therapy session

What to Expect From EFT

Emotionally Focused Therapy sessions look different from other types of therapy. Rather than focusing on communication skills or worksheets, EFT is an experiential method that focuses on emotions. You can expect:

  • Understanding your negative cycle – the repetitive pattern that keeps you stuck

  • Identifying the feelings, thoughts, and attachment needs that fuel your cycle

  • Discovering vulnerable emotions underneath anger or withdrawal

  • Learning to share vulnerably with your partner in new ways

  • Experiencing compassionate responses that invite connection rather than defensiveness

  • Building safer interactions that help you function better as a team

  • Developing tools to recover from difficult moments

The more you experience these safer interactions, the more secure your relationship becomes.

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Start With a Free Consultation

One of the most important factors in the success of counseling is the relationship you have with your therapist. That's why I offer a no-cost, 20-minute phone consultation so you can get a sense of me and how it might feel to work together.

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