Sandra and Carl begin therapy with a number of active conflicts, from whether to sell their boat to where they want to live. Sandra complains that Carl doesn’t express his emotions, commenting “it’s like being with a cardboard character.” Meanwhile Carl is fearful that he cannot provide what Sandra needs, and feels that Sandra’s greater emotional acumen makes it difficult for him to share. In these first sessions, Jorgensen works to quickly develop an alliance with the couple, which enables them to begin to explore the hurt, fear and sadness that lie just under the surface of their disagreements. She identifies the couple’s negative interaction cycle in the first session, and begins to reframe the problem as rooted in underlying feelings and unmet needs.
In the third session, their negative cycle becomes clearer as it is repeatedly enacted, and we witness Jorgensen demonstrate key skills necessary for Stage 1 EFT work, particularly her deft handling of their emotional reactivity. She is able to interrupt their conflicts before they spin out of control, and create space for them to experience a novel way of interacting. Although Carl and Sandra are both fearful about expressing their feelings directly to one another, they begin to share touching moments of closeness during these early sessions.
This video is part of the three video series, Emotionally Focused Therapy: A Complete Treatment. Other self-study videos in this series include:
- EFT Part 1 (Sessions 1 – 3)
- EFT Part 2 (Sessions 4 – 6)
- EFT Part 3 (Sessions 7 – 10)
