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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 890–898Cite as

Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples

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Name of Model

Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples

Synonyms

EFT-C

Introduction

Emotion-focused therapy for couples (EFT-C) is a person-centered and empirically supported treatment model for couples in distress. EFT-C can also be applied with nondistressed couples seeking to deepen intimacy and improve the quality of their interactions. The premise of EFT-C is that affect regulation organizes couple dynamics and is the core motivation for coupling. Using a blend of systemic and experiential concepts and techniques, therapists employing EFT-C enhance affect regulation in the relationship by first helping couples replace their negative relational cycles with positive ones and then fostering each partner’s ability to self-soothe. Problematic interactional cycles are transformed by each partner accessing vulnerable emotions in the presence of the other. Guiding the couple to focus on their negative relational patterns also has the advantage of reducing the tendency of blaming the other...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Rhonda N. Goldman

  2. Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Schaumburg, IL, USA

    Irene C. Wise

Authors
  1. Rhonda N. Goldman
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  2. Irene C. Wise
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rhonda N. Goldman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jay L. Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Anthony L. Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kelley Quirk Ph.D.

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Adam R. Fisher Ph.D.

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© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Cite this entry

Goldman, R.N., Wise, I.C. (2019). Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_194

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