Emotion Focussed Therapy

Emotion Focussed Therapy (EFT) first began to emerge in the1980s as a discipline to inform and expedite positive change for individuals and couples. EFT was initially constructed and assessed by Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg in 1985, while the first article of emotionally focused couples therapy was published some years later.

Emotion Focussed Therapy

Developing the theory, Johnson and Greenberg reappraised videos of sessions with couples counselling to identify, through task analysis and observation the constructs which lead to positive transformation. The enormous contribution of Karl Rogers and the Person Centered Approach in addition to Fritz Pearl synonomous with Gestalt therapy were hugely influential in the EFT movement. The capacity of both approaches to lead and guide in the therapeutic process were at once instrumental and empowering in the present-moment emotional experience for its ability to identify meaning and guide behavior. Robert Elliot at the same time was developing his own reflections and critique from his academic and therapeutic experience with humanistic therapies. As a psychoanalytically trained therapist he embodied a broad church within the psychotherapy field.