EFT: Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples in Franklin 

Let go of pain & Heal.

You’re having the same fight. AGAIN.

Couples often find themselves stuck in repetitive patterns that leave them feeling misunderstood and alone. These patterns might involve feelings of being shut out, attacked, unwanted, not being heard, or craving greater closeness.

Such relationship cycles happen because we are hard-wired to seek connection with others. Because of your need for attachment, when you perceive a threat to your connection (or to your sense of self as worthy of connection) you experience a primary emotion such as fear, hurt, or sadness.

However, experiencing such vulnerable emotions can be incredibly painful. So, usually, you have an almost immediate instinct to cope with those core emotions by replacing them with reactive responses such as anger, withdrawal or numbness. This coping response can happen so quickly and unconsciously that you may not even be aware of the true need underneath.

When you recognize there is a cycle, and you can’t stop it from happening, it’s time to ask for help.

What is EFT?

  • Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is a type of short-term therapy that is used to improve attachment and bonding in adult relationships. This approach to couples therapy was developed by doctors Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg in the 1980s and is rooted in research on love as an attachment bond.

  • EFT looks at how individuals process their experiences, particularly their emotional responses, along with how partners interact together in patterns. The therapist aims to guide the distressed couple away from rigid, harmful, and destructive ways of reacting and toward sensitive, flexible ones that support intimate and secure bonds

  • Emotionally focused therapy can benefit couples who are struggling with conflict, distress, and poor communication. EFT has also proven to be a powerful approach for couples dealing with infidelity or other more traumatic incidents, both recent and past.

how i can help

Emotionally Focused Therapy can help you with:

  • Better emotional functioning: EFT provides a language for healthy dependency between partners and looks at key moves and moments that define an adult love relationship. The primary goal of the model is to expand and re-organize the emotional responses of the couple.

  • Stronger bonds: EFT is based on attachment theory, which suggests that attachments between people typically provide a safe haven—a retreat from the world and a way to obtain comfort, security, and a buffer against stress.

  • Improved interpersonal understanding: EFT helps people become more aware of their partner's needs. Because of this awareness, they are also able to listen and discuss problems from a place of empathy instead of a place of defensiveness or anger.

CREATE A NEW CYCLE THAT WORKS

faqs

Common questions about EFT:

  • Whether you and your partner have tried couple’s therapy before or you’re thinking about trying it for the first time, EFT could be the fit you need. Many come in feeling skeptical or defeated due to past couple’s therapy experiences, and that it completely understandable. Before now, the average success rate for most couples that went to couple’s therapy was only 50%… Currently, the success rate for couple’s therapy using EFT is 75%. See more on the meta analysis here or search google scholar for other studies. The therapy has been studies for nearly 3 decades and is considered to be the gold standard in relational therapy for couples.

  • Unlike other therapy approaches, the primary focus which is on changing behaviors and thoughts, EFT focuses on changing emotional responses in a way that strengthens the emotional bond with the partner.

    EFT is a short-term (18-20 sessions depending on the level of distress), structured therapy. Research studies find that 70-75% of couples move from distress to recovery and 90% show significant improvement. It is a present moment focused, non-blaming, humanistic, and client-centered model.

  • Both partners are expected to attend each session. The 50-minute session fee is $185. We will meet weekly for the first month and then decide if we want to continue to meet weekly or biweekly.

    Payment can be made via cash, check, or card (including HSA). While I do not accept insurance, I can provide a superbill (receipt), which you can submit to your insurance for potential reimbursement if you’d like.