Thus, the emotions themselves do not thwart the therapeutic process. Emotions, so often viewed by distressed clients as “the problem”, are seen as a connection to our most essential needs, a rapid-alert system crucial for survival and advancement. In EFT, emotions are centrally important in the experience of self, in both adaptive and maladaptive functioning, and in therapeutic change.ĮFT proponents claim that change occurs when individuals are able to become aware of, regulate, reflect on, and transform emotions taking place within the context of an empathically-attuned relationship. Johnson noted that recent surveys in North America showed that most people rate finding a loving relationship as their main life goal, placing it ahead of career or financial success (2008).ĮFT is an empirically supported humanistic treatment that includes elements of experiential, person-centred, constructivist, and systems theory, but is firmly rooted in attachment theory. The importance of supporting distressed couples cannot be underscored enough. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), also known as Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), was developed chiefly by Dr Susan Johnson, who perceived the need for a better way of doing couples therapy than what was available in the mid-1980s as she was finishing her doctoral work.