emotionfocused

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT), sometimes described as emotion-focused psychotherapy, is a form of psychotherapy that centers on emotion as a central mechanism of change. Developed by Leslie S. Greenberg and colleagues in the 1980s, EFT draws on humanistic and experiential traditions and is used with individuals and couples. The core premise is that heightened emotional awareness, acceptance, and guided processing of emotionally salient experiences enable adaptive change, whereas problems often arise from maladaptive emotional processing such as avoidance or reliance on secondary emotions that cover primary ones.

The approach aims to help clients access and differentiate their emotions, identify unmet needs, and transform maladaptive emotional patterns into more adaptive responses. Techniques emphasize experiential exploration of feelings, enactment of emotional experiences in session, and the restructuring of meaning attached to events. In couples therapy, EFT seeks to improve attachment and bonding by guiding partners toward greater emotional accessibility, responsiveness, and the creation of secure emotional close-ness.

Treatment typically unfolds through structured stages. In individual EFT, common stages include increasing emotional awareness and reducing distress, transforming problematic emotions through focused processing, and integrating new emotional experiences with adaptive self-understanding. In couples EFT, stages usually involve de-escalating negative interaction cycles, accessing the underlying emotions driving those cycles, and consolidating new, more secure patterns of interaction. The approach emphasizes therapist attunement and the experiential learning of adaptive emotion regulation.

Evidence on EFT indicates efficacy for a range of conditions, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and relationship distress. While results vary by study and context, EFT is regarded as an evidence-based option within contemporary psychotherapy.