Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a highly researched, attachment-based approach to couples therapy and is widely considered the gold standard for working with couples. Developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, EFT is one of the most comprehensive and effective models for helping couples strengthen emotional bonds, repair trust, and create lasting change.

EFT is grounded in attachment theory and focuses on the emotional and relational patterns that drive recurring conflict and disconnection. Rather than teaching communication techniques alone, EFT helps couples understand the deeper emotional needs, fears, and longings that shape how they relate to one another. When these needs go unmet, couples often become stuck in painful cycles of pursuit, withdrawal, defensiveness, or shutdown.

In EFT, therapy focuses on identifying these negative interaction patterns and helping partners experience each other in new, more emotionally responsive ways. Couples learn how to express vulnerability, respond with empathy, and create moments of emotional safety and connection. The therapeutic process is experiential, structured, and deeply attuned to each partner’s inner world.

EFT is effective for couples struggling with communication breakdowns, chronic conflict, emotional distance, trust injuries, and recovery from infidelity. Research shows that EFT leads to stronger emotional bonds and more durable outcomes than many other forms of couples therapy, with improvements that continue after therapy ends.

At its core, EFT is based on the belief that secure, loving relationships are essential to emotional well-being. By helping couples reconnect at an emotional level, EFT supports not only symptom relief, but long-term relational health, resilience, and intimacy.