Emotionally Focused Therapy or EFT is a structured approach to couples therapy that is based in the science of adult attachment and bonding. In EFT, the therapist serves as a process consultant who respectfully comes alongside each partner to help deepen their understanding of what is happening emotionally when we are in conflict, and then share with our partner to also allow for a better understanding of each other.

Too many couples therapy experiences stay focused on the content of the conflict which can lead one partner feeling left out, or even worse attacked. In EFT we understand the science of adult attachment, as well as the survival mechanism inside our brain that helps to protect us. This understanding allows for safety and connection when couples have gotten stuck in a negative cycle that they are unable to find their way out of on their own.

Research studies find that 70 to 75% of couples move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements. The goals of EFT are to expand and re-organize key, emotional responses, to create a shift in partners, interactional positions, and initiate new emotional experiences when interacting and ultimately to foster the creation of a secure bond between partners.

AEDP is About Healing and Transformation.

Instead of starting from ‘What’s wrong with this person?’, AEDP therapists are trained to be ‘transformance detectives’. This means that we actively look for glimmers and signs of the healthy strivings towards growth and wholeness that are inside everybody. This can be profoundly powerful, and it means that even in the first session the client may feel that something true and deeply meaningful has been touched on. AEDP deals with client’s strengths that can bring out the person’s ‘self-at-best’ in order to deeply accompany and heal their ‘self-at-worst’ (i.e. their hurt, traumatized, depressed or anxious self).

AEDP is an Attachment-Based Therapy.

Attachment-based therapy developed from the 1960s work of British psychologist John Bowlby, who first proposed that strong early attachment to at least one primary caregiver is necessary for children to have a sense of security and the supportive foundation they need to freely interact with themselves and others.

EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Ongoing research supports positive clinical outcomes showing EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences (Maxfield, 2019). EMDR therapy has even been superior to Prozac in trauma treatment (Van der Kolk et al., 2007). Shapiro and Forrest (2016) share that more than 7 million people have been treated successfully by 110,000 therapists in 130 countries since 2016.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a unique approach to psychotherapy. ART incorporates a combination of techniques used in many other traditional psychotherapies. ART works directly to reprogram the way in which distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so that they no longer trigger strong physical and emotional reactions. ART accomplishes this through the use of rapid eye movements similar to eye movements that occur during dreaming. Although techniques similar to these are used in other types of therapies, ART’s very specific and directive approach can achieve rapid recovery from symptoms and reactions that may have been present for many years.

ART is unique because the ART Therapist guides the client to replace the negative images in the mind that cause the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress with positive images of the client’s choosing. And this is done quickly, most often within one session! Once the negative images have been replaced by positive ones, the triggers will be gone. Nightmares and repeated intrusive thoughts will stop. ART is also unique in that it combines the enormous power of eye movements to allow voluntary changes in the client’s mind with well-established therapies like Gestalt, Psychodynamic Therapy and Guided Imagery. Within the ART protocol, the eye movements, along with other ART enhancements, make these therapies work much faster and more effectively.