Emotionally Focused Family Therapy and Why Is It Important?

What is emotionally focused family therapy?

Emotionally focused family therapy (EFFT), also known as emotion-focused family therapy, is an attachment-based approach that strengthens family relationships by addressing emotional bonds and fostering secure family patterns. Grounded in Dr. Sue Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), this form of therapy emphasizes understanding and managing emotions to improve connection and communication among family members.

EFFT is especially effective in addressing family dynamics, such as parent-child relationships, adolescent and adult children, adolescent mental health challenges, and caregiver trauma histories. By focusing on significant emotional resolution, it helps transform problematic parenting patterns and enhance parental self-efficacy. It also supports families dealing with issues like stress from life events, childhood trauma histories, or a loved one's mental health difficulties.

A key aspect of Emotionally Focused Family Therapy is its focus on family-oriented interventions. It encourages family members to identify their emotional blocks, address caregiver fears, and increase their ability to regulate emotions. This approach also provides tools for managing childhood maltreatment effects, enhancing caregiver instincts, and improving child emotion regulation.

Through education and skills practice, Emotionally Focused Family Therapy prepares parents and carers to effectively address their loved one's emotional needs. It fosters positive caregiver outcomes, strengthens interpersonal relationships, and offers a clinical and supervision tool for professionals in family therapy and mental health settings.

The role of emotions in family relationships

Emotions play a crucial role in family relationships. They influence how family members interact, how they perceive and respond to each other's behaviors, and, ultimately, the quality of the relationships they form.

They are crucial for building healthy relationships

Emotions are central to Attachment Theory, which suggests that strong emotional bonds between family members are essential for healthy relationships (Bowlby, 1969). Attachment theory posits that early experiences with caregivers shape our expectations and beliefs about relationships, and these internal working models guide our behavior in future relationships.

In family relationships, emotions such as love, trust, and intimacy are critical components of attachment bonds that promote secure relationships (Collins & Feeney, 2000). Emotional connections between family members can help them better understand and support each other and build a strong foundation of trust.

They significantly affect how we communicate

Emotions like anger, happiness, sadness, and fear can significantly impact communication, intimacy, and support within the family unit (Vangelisti, 2018).

Positive emotions, such as love and happiness, contribute to developing strong emotional bonds between family members. These emotions create a sense of warmth, connection, and belonging, leading to a more positive family atmosphere (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000).

On the other hand, negative emotions, such as anger and sadness, can lead to conflict and tension within family relationships. These emotions can be harmful if not managed effectively, leading to strained relationships and emotional distress (Vangelisti, 2018). Research has shown that how family members manage negative emotions can significantly impact the quality of their relationships (Papp, Cummings, & Goeke-Morey, 2009).

They affect how family members provide support

Emotions can also impact the level of support that family members provide to one another. When family members feel positive emotions towards one another, they are more likely to provide emotional and instrumental support during difficult times (Cutrona, 1996). However, negative emotions can lead to withdrawal and decreased supportiveness.

Positive emotions among family members increase the likelihood of emotional and instrumental support being provided during challenging times. Conversely, negative emotions, such as anger and sadness, may cause family members to withdraw and become less supportive.

When is emotionally focused family therapy used?

EFFT is particularly effective in the following situations:

• Navigating family conflict or communication breakdowns: EFFT helps families address recurring arguments, miscommunication, or unresolved tensions by improving emotional understanding and relational patterns.
• Strengthening parent-child relationships: It supports families experiencing strained bonds, helping parents and children better connect emotionally and establish healthier dynamics.
• Addressing trauma or emotional wounds: Families dealing with unresolved trauma, childhood maltreatment, or caregiver histories of distress can use EFFT to process difficult emotions and repair trust.
• Improving attachment security: EFFT is effective when insecure or disrupted attachment patterns contribute to emotional distance or instability within the family.
• Coping with life transitions or stressors: Families facing major changes, such as divorce, loss, or caregiving challenges, benefit from EFFT's focus on emotional regulation and resilience-building.

EFFT fosters emotional healing, enhances relationships, and promotes family well-being by addressing these challenges.

EFFT techniques and examples

Emotionally focused family therapy enhances relationships by fostering emotional security, attachment, and healthy communication. Here are five key techniques, along with examples, used in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy to address family dynamics and identify parental fears, particularly in cases involving trauma, attachment issues, or mental health difficulties:

Family of origin exploration

In this technique, you help family members explore how their family of origin experiences shape their current family dynamics. Understanding past influences is key for addressing family life challenges, such as a parent’s childhood trauma history and its impact on parenting.

For example, a therapist might encourage a parent to reflect on their childhood experiences, identifying how those experiences inform their current parenting style and influencing their child-parent relationships. If a parent has gone through adolescent eating disorder treatment themselves, it may trigger emotional responses if their children express similar issues, for example. This exploration can lead to significant emotional resolution and transformation of negative patterns.

Attachment-focused reframing

The attachment cycle is a core concept in EFFT that refers to the predictable process through which individuals seek and respond to attachment needs, typically in relationships. The technique to explore this cycle is called attachment-focused reframing, which works two-fold. First, it helps identify how actions can trigger or soothe attachment-related emotions, fostering healthier family relationships. Then, it reshapes patterns within the attachment cycle.

This technique can be used in marital and family therapy. For example, a parent feels rejected when a teenager isolates themselves after an argument. The parent responds with anger, reinforcing the teenager’s withdrawal. You can then guide the parent to see the teenager's withdrawal not as rejection but as a protective response stemming from fear of judgment. This reframing encourages the parent to respond with reassurance instead of anger, shifting the attachment cycle toward connection.

Emotion coaching

Emotion coaching is a technique used to support parents in validating and responding to their children's emotions and understanding how children regulate emotions. This method encourages empathetic listening and reflection, which is crucial for addressing children's mental health challenges and enhancing caregiver self-efficacy.

For example, you may guide a parent to acknowledge a child’s sadness by saying, “I see you're feeling upset; it’s okay to feel that way.” This approach helps parents overcome treatment engagement fears. It strengthens family relationships by creating a supportive environment where children’s emotions are acknowledged and regulated, discouraging the critical or dismissive parent style.

Externalization

Externalization is a technique that helps family members separate themselves from negative emotions or thoughts. This process encourages empathy and self-compassion, reducing the perceived negative influence of emotions.

For example, family members are encouraged to externalize negative feelings by giving them a name or form, such as a "cloud" or "monster." This technique can significantly reduce emotional blocks and help family members manage their emotions more effectively, fostering healthier family interactions.

Creating shared meaning

Creating shared meaning in a family therapy workshop involves helping family members identify shared values, goals, and traditions that unite them. This technique fosters attachment-based family therapy principles by cultivating a sense of belonging and enhancing family systems.

For instance, a therapist may encourage family members to collaborate on a family mission statement, aligning their values and building stronger emotional connections. This shared meaning promotes secure family patterns and strengthens the emotional foundation of the family, improving the ability to cope with stressful life events and emotional distress.

References

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

Collins, N. L., & Feeney, B. C. (2000). A safe haven: An attachment theory perspective on support-seeking and caregiving in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(6), 1053–1073.

Papp, L. M., Cummings, E. M., & Goeke-Morey, M. C. (2009). For richer, for poorer: Money as a topic of marital conflict in the home. Family Relations, 58(1), 91-103.

Reis, H. T., Collins, W. A., & Berscheid, E. (2000). The relationship context of human behavior and development. Psychological Bulletin, 126(6), 844–872.

Vangelisti, A. L. (2018). Handbook of family communication (2nd ed.). Routledge.