We’ll look carefully into what happens between you over and over, the emotions and thoughts that arise when these repeated interaction patterns are occurring, and the ways of behaving that result from these emotions and thoughts. When negative interaction patterns are occurring, it is difficult to feel safe, vulnerable and that you are cared for and valued by your partner. In this state, without true emotional responsiveness, partners will often default towards a “fight or flight” reponse, “fighting” for connection, or withdrawing in hopes of avoiding conflict.
Using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a couples therapy approach that emphasizes transforming emotional experiences, creating more secure relationships through strengthening bonds, we will work towards increasing emotional availability, responsiveness and engagement.
Emotional availability and emotional authenticity in tandem create increased closeness where underlying feelings and needs can be shared in a context of loving support and understanding.
Research shows that over 70 percent of couples in EFT went from distressed to happy, and 90 percent reported significant improvement in 12 to 20 sessions. Even more importantly, the results were stable two years later. No other couples modality can report anything close to this success.