Use validation, reflecting emotions, evocative responding, and empathic conjecture to identify secondary and primary emotions.

Increase couple’s awareness of negative interaction cycle and the primary emotions that fuel it to reduce conflict and hopelessness.

Assess for appropriateness of EFT for couple, ruling out substance abuse, trauma, violence, conflicting agendas, or other contraindications.Identify needed referrals, crisis issues, collateral contacts, and other client needs.Reframe problem in terms of negative interaction cycle, with the cycle being the common enemy.Diversity note: Modify goals to correspond with values from the client’s cultural, religious, and other value systems. Define and obtain client agreement on treatment goals.Assess attachment history, including attachment injuries, as well as history of trauma.Identify secondary and primary (attachment) emotions that characterize cycle.Identify the negative interaction cycle, including pursuer/distance roles.Diversity note: Adjust assessment based on cultural, socioeconomic, sexual orientation, gender, and other relevant norms. Assess individual, systemic, and broader cultural dynamics.

Use empathic attunement, RISSSC, and genuineness to develop a safe emotional context for the therapy process.Relationship building approach/intervention:.Diversity note: Adjust expressions of empathy to respect cultured, gendered, and other styles of emotional expression. Create a working alliance with both partners.Initial Phase of Treatment: EFT for Couples For couples experiencing relational distress and/or conflict, EFT therapists might use the following treatment plan to help them conceptualize and guide their treatment.

Emotionally focused therapy for couples