Softening in Emotion-Focused Therapy

Synonyms

Softening in EFT-C

Introduction

Emotion-focused therapy for couples (EFT-C) is a blend of systemic and experiential therapies created to enhance couple interaction by decreasing negative, escalating conflict and increasing intimacy and vulnerable emotional expression between partners (Greenberg and Goldman 2008). Leslie Greenberg’s intense study and training in systems work and power dynamics within relationships, families, and couples, combined with his emphasis on experiential work to facilitate emotional expression led him to pioneer the development of EFT-C, an integrative therapy that blends systemic and experiential techniques with a strong emphasis on therapeutic working alliance. First developed in 1988, Leslie Greenberg and Rhonda Goldman expanded the original model to include five stages: (1) validation and alliance formation, (2) negative cycle de-escalation, (3) accessing underlying vulnerable feelings, (4) restructuring the negative interaction and the self, and...