What Is Emotion Focused Therapy?

Emotion Focused Therapy is founded on the beliefs that our human emotions are connected to our human needs: like being heard, understood, loved, and feeling safe (and many more). Therefore, the goal in Emotion Focussed Therapy is to create a safe environment that allows you to work through painful emotions, while also fostering strong and helpful emotions that can support change.

This quote below captures it well:

“Changing Emotions with Emotions.” 

By Dr. Leslie Greenberg, founder of Emotion Focussed Therapy.

Such change can take multiple sessions as emotions and experiences can be hard to share and complex to understand. This all is done within a non-judgemental, respectful and empowering space, with active support and input from me as the therapist.

So, rather than focussing in therapy on unhelpful thoughts or behaviours to change painful experiences: in Emotion Focussed Therapy your emotions, experiences and understanding of these are often at the centre of the therapy.

Emotion (or ‘Emotionally’) Focussed Therapy (EFT) is supported by strong scientific evidence base and is used with individuals, couples and families.
The jargon: Emotion Focussed Therapy has elements of Person-Centred Therapy, Experiential Therapy, Gestalt Therapy and Attachment Theories.