EFT Cycle Worksheet

What is emotionally focused therapy (EFT)?

Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is a psychological intervention approach rooted in attachment theory. EFT was developed as a targeted therapeutic strategy for adults experiencing difficulties in romantic relationships.  As a humanistic psychotherapy approach, EFT aims to help clients process and communicate suppressed or underlying emotions to improve self-awareness in the context of resolving relationship issues. It operates on the premise that emotional responsiveness underpins healthy attachments; thus, improving this can enhance secure connections.

The EFT cycle is a model that explains how emotions, thoughts, and actions interact within relationships. This theory suggests that people tend to fall into repetitive patterns of interaction, creating self-perpetuating dysfunctional relationship dynamics.

Therapy exercises designed to break the EFT cycle have three stages. Each stage builds upon the previous one, moving from reducing conflict to enhancing connection and ensuring lasting improvements (Greenberg, 2010):

1. De-escalation: Focuses on reducing negative interactions to create a safer emotional environment.
2. Restructuring interactions: Aims to improve emotional responsiveness and foster positive cycles of interaction.
3. Consolidation: Solidifies the changes, integrating new interaction patterns into the relationship's fabric for long-term stability.

What is an EFT Cycle Worksheet?

An EFT Cycle Worksheet is a resource for therapists and counselors working with couples and individuals who are 'stuck' in a negative cycle of conflict. It draws on key principles of emotion-focused therapy to help clients become aware of the patterns of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that characterize their relationship dynamics.

By identifying triggers, emotional responses, and negative interactional patterns, this worksheet supports clients in de-escalating conflicts and creating more adaptive relational processes. It also offers therapists insight into the underlying dynamics of the relationship, which can help develop more targeted interventions to improve relational functioning.

How does our EFT Cycle Worksheet template work?

This resource is designed to help couples and individual clients navigate the complexities of their emotional connections. Here's how to implement the EFT Cycle Worksheet into your practice:

Step 1: Access the template

To access the template, click the "Use template" button on this page. This link will open the worksheet in the Carepatron app, where you can tailor it to your client's needs. Alternatively, click the "Download" button to access a ready-to-go PDF version.

Step 2: Distribute the worksheet

Provide the client with the worksheet during the EFT session. If working with a couple, decide whether it will be more beneficial to have them collaborate on one worksheet or to complete individual worksheets. Explain the purpose of the exercise to the client and guide them through each stage by facilitating open discussion.

Step 3: De-escalation

Guide clients through completing the sections under 'Stage 1: De-escalation.' Assist them in identifying negative interaction cycles, triggers, and events that cause distress. Next, they should identify the specific emotions this causes and why they occur. Help them to create strategies for new, positive patterns of interaction.

Step 4: Restructuring

Instruct clients to work through 'Stage 2: Restructuring.' These sections are designed to identify personal needs and areas for individual growth, improve communication and empathy, and restructure behavioral responses towards the partner.

Step 5: Consolidation

The third part of the worksheet, 'Stage 3: Consolidation,' is designed to help clients implement and maintain these changes. Instruct clients to take a practical approach to this section and identify how the reflections made in former parts of the worksheet can be leveraged within relationships.

Step 6: Refer to the worksheet for future sessions

Utilize the completed EFT Cycle Worksheet as a reference during therapy sessions to track the relationship's growth and development over time. This step fosters accountability and continuity in the therapeutic process, helping clients to re-engage with their reflections.

What are the benefits of using this worksheet?

The EFT Cycle Worksheet can help clients and therapists explore and address relational dynamics. Here are some key benefits of using this worksheet:

Facilitates communication

Completing the EFT Cycle Worksheet encourages clients to engage in open and honest communication. By fostering constructive dialogue, this worksheet promotes greater understanding and empathy within the relationship, guiding clients better to articulate their emotions, feelings, and needs.

High psychotherapeutic utility

The EFT Cycle Worksheet guides clients to make meaningful reflections, which mental health professionals can leverage in a variety of therapeutic approaches. Because of its high utility, the worksheet can be easily integrated into overarching treatment goals, making it an incredibly valuable psychotherapy tool.

Promotes emotional awareness

The structured format of the worksheet encourages clients to explore and articulate their emotions meaningfully. This process of emotional exploration fosters greater self-awareness and emotional intelligence, empowering clients to navigate their relationships with greater clarity, empathy, and insight.

Strengthens relationships

The EFT Cycle Worksheet helps clients cultivate healthier and more fulfilling relationships by addressing unmet underlying attachment needs. By implementing strategies identified in the worksheet, clients can work towards building stronger emotional connections and fostering greater intimacy.

Reference

Greenberg, L. S. (2010). Emotion-Focused therapy: A clinical synthesis. FOCUS, 8(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1176/foc.8.1.foc32