Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) for couples combines experiential and systemic techniques to expand emotional responses and cycles of interaction. This approach has also been used to treat depression, chronic illness, and anxiety disorders. EFT appears to translate well across culture and class, focusing on universal key emotions and attachment needs. From the EFT perspective, adult love is a hardwired, adaptive attachment response. The therapist's in-session focus is on the processing of emotions and key interactional patterns as they occur in the present, because emotional experiences are the primary instruments of change in this approach. The therapist is a relationship consultant who offers a safe platform whereby each partner can distill, expand, and transform experience and find new ways to connect with the other. The case presented here illustrates the three stages of EFT: de-escalation, restructuring interactions, and consolidation.
(c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 62: 597-609, 2006.