Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is one model that is practiced in all three modalities of individual, couple and family therapy. The interventions are consistent across all modalities and are guided by the attachment perspective and focused on the active processing and regulation of emotion. Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is an attachment-based approach that combines both systemic and experiential interventions to mend broken bonds and heal fractured families. EFFT offers a practical approach to engaging emotional experience within a family and targets the distress that blocks family members from accessing the necessary resources for growth and connection. Through the power of transforming emotional experience, a family is able to heal injuries and gain resilience to face the everyday and unexpected challenges of life. This presentation offers an overview of key EFFT elements and practices used to increase emotion regulation and corrective experiences in family relationships.
James Furrow
James Furrow, Ph.D., is leader and contributor to the practice of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) with couples and families. Together with EFT originator, Dr. Susan Johnson, Jim co-authored Emotionally Focused Family Therapy; Becoming an EFT Therapist: The Workbook and The EFT Casebook. He is also co-authored Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy for Dummies, a practical resource for couples and therapists seeking an everyday understanding of EFT principles and practices. Formerly Jim served as the Evelyn and Frank Freed Professor of Marital and Family Therapy at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, where he trained psychologists and marital and family and conducted research on adolescent risk and resilience. He is a clinical fellow and an approved supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a member of the National Council on Family Relations, and a Certified Family Life Educator. He co-founded the Los Angeles Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy and board member of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT).
Gail Palmer (RSW, RMFT)
Gail is an ICEEFT certified therapist, supervisor and trainer and educates mental health professionals in EFT worldwide. She holds a Masters degree in Social Work and is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist in Canada. Gail is Co-Director of the International Center of Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy and one of the Founding Members of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute. Gail has a particular interest in applying the EFT model with work with families. For over twenty years, Gail has been one of the lead EFT trainers who have developed and expanded on Sue Johnson's EFFT method and is co-author of the seminal 2018 text, Emotionally Focused Family Therapy: Restoring Connection and Promoting Resilience and Becoming an Emotionally Focused Therapist: The Workbook. Gail has presented on Emotionally Focused Family Therapy internationally, has published several chapters and articles on EFFT and has been involved as a supervisor in EFFT research. Professionally, Gail's primary passion is to help therapists who are both new to EFT and trained in EFT, to bring the powerful interventions and skills of this model to the family therapy room.
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