Compass Clinic helps Vancouver clients to get in touch with their inner emotional world and develop stronger, healthier relationships through Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). If your relationships are battleground-scarred, or you struggle with emotional numbness or trauma, Emotion Focused Therapy in Vancouver is a gentle, encouraging journey to wellness — one in which your feelings are the centre of the action in healing.
What is Emotion Focused Therapy / Emotionally Focused Therapy / Emotional Focused Therapy?
They might have called them by several names – emotion focused therapy, emotionally focused therapy, or even emotional focused therapy sometimes – but they are all about therapeutic methods grounded in awareness, expression, and change of emotions.
Emotion Focused Therapy (by Dr. Leslie Greenberg) is a client-centered therapy approach whose aim is to increase clients’ understanding of their emotions, assist them in assigning meaning to them, and engage them in the contribution towards healthier decision-making.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (by Dr. Sue Johnson) is utilized mostly with couples and families, and its attachment needs-based, emotional responsiveness-based, and concentrated on emotional bond repair restoration.
The term emotional focused therapy is often a typo but the same emotion-focused, human-centered approach.
At Compass Clinic, our Vancouver therapists are both individually trained in Emotion Focused Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), with each treatment plan tailored to your needs.
How Does Emotion Focused Therapy Work?
EFT typically adheres to three structured steps:
Awareness and De-escalation
Clients begin by observing patterns of feeling — self-criticism, avoidances, or relational stuckness. With couples, this is observing recurring patterns of feeling that result in disconnection.
Changing of Emotions
Here, clients process and complete long-standing avoided or unfinished emotional experiences. Here, real emotional transformation happens — anger gets softened, shame gets enveloped in compassion, and fear becomes a reminder for connection and not avoidance.
Consolidation and Integration
New emotional patterns of behavior get consolidated and ingrained, and thereby emotional awareness can be brought into day-to-day living by individuals or couples. Couples’ marriages are enhanced, and individuals become emotionally anchored and self-aware.
Is Emotion Focused Therapy Humanistic
Indeed — EFT is humanistic. It is based on the knowledge that human beings have an inherent capacity to heal, develop, and be emotionally intelligent. The therapist never does the healing for the client but helps the client tap in and believe in their emotional intelligence. Empathy, being expressive, and authentic connection are actually foremost in this technique — pillars of strength of humanistic therapy.
Is Emotionally Focused Therapy Evidence Based?
In fact. EFT is one of the leading evidence-based treatments of today:
There are several studies which have proven its efficacy for depression, anxiety, trauma, and above all couples distress.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) has proved to enhance relationship satisfaction and emotional intimacy in 70–90% of couples.
For clients, EFT has proved long-term effectiveness in treating emotional dysregulation, low self-esteem, and chronic unresolved trauma.
Briefly: Emotionally Focused Therapy is empirically well-studied, evidence-based, and up-to-date with the latest psychological literature.
What is EFT, EFCT, and Emotion Focused Family Therapy?
EFT (Emotion Focused Therapy) is the individual modality of treatment Dr. Greenberg developed. EFT was designed to help individuals deconstruct emotional blocks and become more emotionally sensitive.
EFCT (Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy) is an emotional responsiveness and attachment relationship couples therapy.
Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) brings the same principles to family life, helping family members learn to empathize better, repair disconnection, and help each other heal — especially teen mental health.
Frequently Asked Questions About Emotion Focused Therapy
1. What is Emotion Focused Therapy all about?
Emotion Focused Therapy is about helping people listen to the emotional life of a deep healing quality. Rather than avoiding or repelling painful emotions, EFT helps people and couples work with them in a whole, complete way, coming to know them, and using them as a healer for intimacy and healing.
2. What kind of problems does EFT treat?
EFT provider is used to cure various problems like depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, numbness, relationship problems, and communication problems. EFT enhances emotional closeness and conflict resolution in relationships between spouses. EFT rewires emotional trust and communication within family members.
3. How many sessions do I need?
EFT is short- to medium-term therapy. Improvement can be made by most people within 8 to 20 sessions. The number will vary depending on how complicated the issues are, how long the emotional patterns have been running, and what your goals are for therapy.
4. Is EFT emotionally intense?
Sometimes, yes — EFT does require tuning into and processing huge amounts of feelings like grief, fear, shame, and anger. But your therapist will do it within your emotion tolerance and safely. Clients have commonly said that it feels extremely intense at times but eventually freeing and healing.
5. Is Emotion Focused Therapy Humanistic?
Yes. EFT comes out of the empathic, humanistic psychotherapy tradition of trusting in your ability to heal and become emotionally healthier. It respects each client as the expert on his or her emotional life.
6. Is Emotionally Focused Therapy evidence-based?
In fact. Research shows EFT effective for a host of mental health and relationship issues. With couple’s therapy, EFCT has one of the most solid results in the field, leading couples from anger and disconnection to intimacy and connection.
7. How are EFT, EFCT, and EFFT different from one another?
EFT used to indicate individual Emotion Focused Therapy (for emotional healing for individuals).
EFCT is an abbreviation for Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (emotionally focused on romantic couple attachment).
EFFT is an acronym for Emotion Focused Family Therapy, which is aimed at emotional patterns and needs within family systems.
8. What is Emotion Focused Family Therapy?
EFFT is about caring for families in order to look after one another emotionally, especially when a child or teen is dealing with mental health challenges. It assists caregivers with managing emotions in a gentle manner, healing from trust breaks, and building an emotionally safe home.
9. Is EFT for me?
If you find yourself stuck too often, in your feelings, alone in relationships, or stuck on what to say to someone about how you feel — Emotion Focused Therapy can be the solution. It’s a gentle, step-by-step journey of relearning connection with yourself and others at a deeper emotional level.
Let’s Begin Emotion Focused Therapy in Vancouver?
If you’re looking for Emotion Focused Therapy in Vancouver, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re an individual seeking to battle inner struggles, a couple seeking to reconnect, or a family of individuals seeking to connect through emotional struggle, our therapists will walk with you with empathy, with ability, and with evidence-based intervention.
Call your way today to schedule a consultation appointment or learn more about what we have to offer you.