Applying Emotionally Focused Therapy to Individual and Family Work
An Introduction
PRESENTED BY MARIA BRADY, LMFT
Webinar Based Exam
2 CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITs
BASE is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. BASE maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
DESCRIPTION
This presentation will provide a review of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) as a framework for applying this modality to working with individuals (Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy – EFIT) and families (Emotionally Focused Family Therapy – EFFT). As a modality based in attachment theory, EFIT and EFFT seek to make systemic change on a deep attachment level rather than behavioral change for the individual or family. EFT provides a roadmap of steps and stages that will be explained and demonstrated as it applies to the various clinical settings. The same negative cycles that are seen in couples are seen within an individual and family system (Johnson, 2019).
Through this course, participants will be able to compare the use of EFT with different clients from beginning to end of treatment. The presentation will describe the assessment process for work with individuals and families and apply the EFT interventions to both. The work with individuals helps the client identify the negative cycles they experience between differing parts of themselves as well as with significant others (Brubacher, 2017). While the same idea is utilized with families, this is much more complex work due to the many subsystems that the family presents (Stavrianopoulos, Faller & Furrow, 2014). Participants will be provided with case examples of the use of EFIT and EFFT to demonstrate the implementation of these modalities. Through participation in this training, attendees should be able to effectively describe EFFT and EFIT and apply it to their own clinical work.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Based on the content of this workshop, you will be able to:
·Utilize the steps and stages of the EFT approach to EFIT and EFFT to move individuals and families to connection and healing.
·Describe the assessment process for using EFIT and EFFT.
·Identify the positional stance that each part of the system takes and reframe this stance through an attachment framework.
·Articulate therapeutic techniques the modality provides and apply them to work with individuals and families.
·Expand on the use of EFFT with the integration of play therapy for children that are preschool age.
AUDIENCE
This program is appropriate for licensed psychologists and other mental health practitioners who utilize or are interested in integrating emotion focused therapy into their clinical practice. Training is at an introductory level.
ReSOURCES
Dansby Olufowote, R.A., Fife, S.T., Schleiden, C., & Whiting, J.B. (2020). How can I become more secure?: A grounded theory of earning secure attachment. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 46, 489-506.
Furrow, J.L., & Palmer, G. (2007). EFFT and blended families: Building bonds from the inside out. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 26, 44-58.
Johnson, S. (2004). The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.
Johnson, S. (2019). Attachment theory in practice: emotionally focused therapy (eft) with individuals, couples, and families. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
Lee, N.A., Furrow, J.L., & Bradley, B.A. (2017). Emotionally focused couple therapy for parents raising a child with a autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(4), 662-673.
Stavrianopoulos, K., Faller, G., & Furrow, J.L. (2014). Emotionally focused family therapy: Facilitating change within a family system. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 13(1), 25-43.
Willis, A.B., Haslam, D.R., & Bermudez, J.M (2016). Harnessing the power of play in EFFT with preschool children. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42(4), 673-687.
PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES
There is no commercial support for this CE program, instructor, content of instruction, or any other relationship that could be construed as a conflict of interest. There is no endorsement of products.