ABSTRACT
Beginning Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) therapists do well to focus themselves, as they do their work with couples, “on growth through new experience, and new ways of processing that experience, rather than on the correction of inherent deficits or deficiencies”. Pearls form as a result of an irritant becoming trapped in the soft tissue of a living creature as this creature attempts to grasp the nutrients needed to sustain life. One way of dealing with the irritant can result in something precious and beautiful. EFT therapists “follow emotion” because emotion is the heart of change. In intimate relationships, it is the most powerful force: a hand can calm jittery neurons in the brain, and perceived disconnection can trigger primal panic. The next steps for EFT are likely to include more standardisation in applying EFT to individuals and families and more research conducted across a broader range of diverse groups.
