Approaches / Relational and systemic
Emotion-focused and emotionally focused therapy (EFT)
Two related approaches sharing an emphasis on emotion, with distinct histories and areas of focus.
Overview
EFT can refer to emotion-focused therapy or emotionally focused therapy. The names describe related approaches with overlapping roots and different emphases. Emotion-focused therapy began as an individual approach; emotionally focused therapy developed from work with couples and now also has individual and family formats. The distinction matters when interpreting a source.
Core ideas
Both approaches place emphasis on emotion. Emotion-focused therapy is associated with humanistic and experiential traditions. Emotionally focused therapy places particular emphasis on attachment and patterns of interaction, especially in its work with couples.
What a session can involve
A therapist may help a person attend to and explore emotional experience. In couple work, a therapist may also explore recurring interactions between partners. Practices differ between approaches and practitioners.
Formats and settings
Emotion-focused therapy began as an individual approach. The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy describes individual, couple and family formats of emotionally focused therapy. The name alone does not establish which approach or format a practitioner uses.
How it relates to other approaches
Emotion-focused therapy draws on person-centred and Gestalt traditions. Emotionally focused therapy draws on attachment theory and systemic perspectives on relationships.
Limits and open questions
Because both names use EFT, claims about one approach can be misattributed to the other. Questions of culture, power and safety require attention; joint work may be inappropriate where there is abuse or coercion. This entry does not evaluate the effectiveness of either approach for a particular condition.
History
Greenberg and Jeremy Safran published an account of emotion in psychotherapy in 1987. Greenberg and Sue Johnson developed an integrative approach to couples therapy together in the 1980s. The two branches later developed distinct emphases.
Key people
Leslie Greenberg and Sue Johnson collaborated on early emotionally focused couple therapy. Jeremy Safran co-wrote the 1987 account of emotion in psychotherapy with Greenberg.
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: The authors describe the related branches and their histories on page 4. Only the available sample was read; the whole book was not examined.
International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. What is EFT?
Supports: The organisation describes individual, couple and family formats of emotionally focused therapy. Its own description is not an independent assessment of effectiveness.