Training, Presentations & Workshops

Training for Therapists in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples and Families

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a short-term, empirically-validated, experiential and systemic approach to therapy with couples. Research indicates that 70-75% of couples move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements when working with an EFT trained therapist. EFT provides therapists with a highly effective road map to help couples get unstuck, reduce distress, and positively transform their attachment bond. If you work (or want to work) therapeutically with couples and/or families, and are looking for an approach that will not only add to your skills-base, but that provides an intuitively appealing and highly practitioner-relevant theoretical framework, then this is an excellent training opportunity to consider.

In many cases, couples come into marital therapy because they are getting entrenched and stuck in emotionally-charged arguments that they can’t break free of. Each partner feels stuck and at a loss, and in session therapists may also be feeling powerless in the sense that it can be difficult for the therapist to know where to best focus to facilitate change and break this destructive cycle.

EFT focuses on helping partners to shift the emotional responses that maintain their negative interactional patterns. Through a series of steps and approximately 8-20 sessions, the therapist leads the couple away from conflict and deadlock into new bonding interactions that help to build a renewed sense of love and a stronger foundation than ever. This approach is also used with excellent results with families. It also lends itself very well to working with couples where one partner or both partners are presenting with specific problems including depression, trauma, anxiety, low self-esteem, low sexual desire, and/or other sexual problems.

Dr. Leanne Campbell and Dr. David Fairweather were trained and supervised in EFT in the early-mid 1990s by its co-originator Dr. Susan Johnson, and have been using the approach ever since, in addition to training and supervising other clinicians in its use. Campbell & Fairweather Psychology Group is designated as a Centre for the Training of EFT.

Recommended to all professionals who counsel couples, including psychiatrists, psychologists, family physicians, social workers, psychiatric nurses, counsellors, pastors and clergy, and students training in these professions.

For more detailed info about EFT visit EFT Vancouver Island.

Current Training Opportunities

EXTERNSHIP (FUNDAMENTALS OF EFT)

(No knowledge of EFT required; Masters level training in Psychology, Social Work, Counselling or related field an asset). Participants will learn the theoretical underpinnings of EFT, as well as how to:

  • View marital distress from an attachment perspective

  • Assess couples’ suitability for EFT

  • Work through the 9 steps of EFT

  • Elicit and work with emotion as it occurs in sessions

  • Shape key new interaction and bonding events

  • Work through blocks in therapy

The format provides participants with presentations of theory and clinical techniques, opportunities to work through experiential skills building exercises, view and discuss therapy-in-action video recordings, discuss specific cases, and observe live interviews. * Dependent on couple being referred by a participant and appropriate screening by the trainers.

For more information regarding EFT, please visit www.iceeft.com or read Hold Me Tight, a book by Dr. Susan Johnson, co-founder of EFT (see www.holdmetight.net ).

For further information on upcoming Externships please contact Campbell & Fairweather at info@cfpsych.ca or telephone 250-933-4884.

WORKSHOPS (ONE OR TWO DAY)

Workshops on couples or family therapy are available as an introduction to EFT/EFFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy/Emotionally Focused Family Therapy) and are designed to help participants:

  • Understand marital/family distress from an attachment perspective

  • Identify specific interventions to help couples/families reprocess negative emotion and restructure negative interactions

  • Create powerful change events in therapy that foster a more secure bond between partners/family members

  • Address common impasses and difficult issues in marital/family therapy

  • Deal with specific populations/problems such as depression, trauma, grief, and/or chronic illness

* Workshops can be specifically tailored to meet the needs/mandate of your organization, educational institution, or practice setting.

CORE SKILLS ADVANCED TRAINING

Core Skills training consists of small groups (12-16 people) learning the skills essential to the practice of EFT. The training takes place over four weekends/Thurs-Fri, 12 hours each weekend/Thurs-Fri, every three to four months over the space of approximately one year. Participants are required to have completed an EFT externship. The training takes place in a small group with a combination of didactic and experiential learning, as well as live demonstration sessions. Participants are encouraged to bring their own case material for discussion and illustration purposes.

Participants interested in working toward EFT certification must be willing to present their own work through audio/videotape presentation, as well as transcript. Presentation of your work through video/audio presentation and transcript is one of the requirements for EFT certification. For more information about certification, please visit the ICEEFT website at www.iceeft.com

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP SUPERVISION (LOCAL & DISTANCE)

Individual, pair, and group supervision are available by request. Drs. Campbell and Fairweather are registered Supervisors and Trainers with the International Centre for Excellence in EFT (ICEEFT). They offer face to face supervision, as well as long-distance supervision.

ADVANCED EXTERNSHIP

Two day advanced externships are open to a maximum of 10 participants. Each participant will present their own work through audio/videotape accompanied with a transcript of at least 15 minutes of the session. This is an opportunity to receive feedback on your work from Drs. Campbell and Fairweather. An advanced externship also offers a wonderful opportunity to learn from the other group members.

 To register for any of the above workshops contact us to request a reservation by visiting us at EFT Vancouver Island or by calling Campbell & Fairweather Psychology Group at 250.933.4884.