Clients experience more clarity and self-appreciation through safe and accurate connection. The therapist feels with, reflects, shines curiosity, and conjectures in search of deeper resonance. In EFT, the therapist walks with the client in their shoes, joining them in their experience. For this reason, each emphasizes a different therapist stance. EFT and IFS emphasize different therapist stances, and different sources of healingĮFT and IFS have fundamentally different source of compassionate connection. Finally, in both models, the therapist must do an enormous amount of their own internal work to provide these experiences. Rather, healing happens with new, felt experiences of compassionate connection. Well-intentioned but unsuccessful behaviors and emotions are simply blocked from growing and healing for reasons that make perfect sense.ĮFT and IFS both understand the way out of suffering is not through talking and analysis. At the same time, each emphasizes a unique energy that is distinctly powerful in the world of psychotherapy.īoth models see all behaviors and emotions as having beneficial, positive intentions.

EFT and IFS have core common principalsĮmotionally Focused Therapy and Internal Family Systems are complementary models. Delightedly, I also found Internal Family Systems (IFS), which opened a whole other world for me and my clients. Most trainings increased my confidence in and appreciation for EFT. Over the years, I continued to learn other leading models of therapy to see what they could add to my skill set. I jumped all in, doing as much training, supervision, and teaching as I could to master the model. It fundamentally changed how I work with clients, and the depth of healing I’m able to facilitate. Finally, I could let go of my self-questioning, and be excited to commit to my new relationship.īecause that short workshop was so powerful for me personally, I did pursue EFT training. Answers to the questions I’d been asking for years about what had gone wrong in my past marriage. At that introductory workshop, though, I was delighted by what I got for myself. Believing-falsely-couple work was more superficial and less transformative than individual work.

Imagining-correctly-it would take a lot to learn. I first came across Sue Johnson and her model of couple therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), at a large psychotherapy convention many years ago. Learning Emotionally Focused Therapy and Internal Family Systems

Emotion focused therapy