Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) has gained a lot of traction in recent years. It’s grown in popularity for couples and families, but it can also be especially effective for individuals.
When EFT is used for couples, it can help with poor communication and conflict. When utilized as an individual, you can enjoy similar benefits related to your emotions and how they could be impacting your life.
If you’ve been curious about EFT or you’re interested in learning more about it, let’s cover some of the conditions it can help with.
Depression
Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world. As such, there is no shortage of treatment solutions to “get rid of” and/or manage symptoms. But, there’s also not a one-size-fits-all option. Not everyone deals with their symptoms the same way.
Whether you’ve tried more traditional forms of therapy like CBT or not, EFT for depression is meant to help you identify and process your emotions.
Why is that important?
Research has shown that depression can inhibit the way you process your emotions. When you aren’t able to process them in healthy, “full” ways, you can never really work through what’s troubling you. Many types of therapy allow you to go to the root cause of your depression, and this is no different. It just takes a different approach to get there.
Anxiety
Anxiety often comes with very difficult emotions. You might feel fear, uncertainty, confusion, frustration, and everything in between. One of the reasons why EFT is so effective for anxiety is that it provides a safe and comfortable environment for you to learn more about your emotions and how to regulate them.
Your therapist will guide you through your emotions, helping you face the negative ones — including the fears that could be causing your anxiety. When you know how to manage those negative emotions, it’s easier to turn them into positive ones, giving you more control over invasive, anxious thoughts.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can impact anyone who has been through a traumatic event at any stage of life. That includes childhood trauma you’ve been carrying for years.
EFT can help you deal with the effects of trauma by making it easier to make sense of what happened to you in the past. It’s never easy to “re-live” the negative things you’ve been through. But when you’re able to navigate those waters in a comfortable and safe space with a therapist guiding you, you can turn those emotions into something more manageable.
What to Expect
You’re probably sensing a pattern when it comes to exactly how EFT helps with these conditions. Emotions will always demand to be felt, but that doesn’t mean they’re always easy to understand or regulate. EFT works by helping you make sense of those emotions so you aren’t consumed by them.
Throughout your time in EFT, you’ll go through several principles with your therapist. These “stages” of emotional intervention include awareness, expression, regulation, reflection, transformation, and corrective experience.
Emotionally Focused Individual therapy helps cleints recognize and access a full range of emotions and identify impulses to act in certain ways in response to emotions. It helps clients feel more comfortable experiencing emotions, confident and skilled at sharing emotions with trusted others.
If you’re interested in learning more about Emotionally Focused Therapy as an individual, feel free to contact me. There are additional conditions not listed here that this type of therapy can help.