Training

There are a variety of training opportunities available through the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. Supervision and training are provided by Registered EFT Supervisors and Trainers.

Workshops
One-day workshops on couples or family therapy are available as an introduction to EFT/EFFT and are designed to help you:

Understand the phenomenon of marital/family distress in an attachment context

Identify specific interventions to help couples/families reprocess negative affect and restructure negative interactions

Create powerful change events in therapy that foster a more secure bond between partners/family members

Deal with common impasses and difficult issues in marital/family therapy

One day workshop outline
Two day workshop outline

Externships

Four Day Externships in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy TM in Canada's Capital City (Ottawa).
This externship is taught by Dr. Johnson and the ICEEFT colleagues and master clinicians. Four day externships are also available in other centres with ICEEFT trainers.

General Objectives: Externships in EFCT:

~participants will obtain a clear understanding of the basic experiential and systemic concepts of an "Emotionally Focused" approach to couples therapy.
~participants will be able to conceptualize couple distress and relationship repair based on theories of attachment and emotion.
~participants will develop skills in helping partners reprocess the emotional responses that maintain relational distress.
~participants will develop skills in helping partners shape new interaction patterns and bonding events.
~participants will develop skills to overcome therapeutic impasses with couples.

These objectives were formulated with the help of Dr. Jim Furrow.

An Externship includes observation of live interviews, presentations of theory and clinical techniques, skills training exercises, and discussion of specific cases, clinical material and issues.

Who should attend?

The externship is recommended to all professionals who counsel couples, including psychiatrists, psychologists, family physicians, social workers, psychiatric nurses, counsellors, pastors and clergy, and students training in these professions.

Participants learn to:

See marital distress from an attachment perspective, help partners reprocess the emotional responses that maintain marital distress, shape key new interaction and bonding events, and overcome therapeutic impasses. Participants are strongly encouraged to read the 2004 book on EFT - Creating Connections, before comming to the externship. Ideally participants will also have viewed the first training tape - Healing Borken Bonds.

To see the schedule, click here.
To see comments from participants, click here.

Advanced Externships
Two day advancedexternships in emotionally focused couples therapy ^TM in Canada's Capital City.
This externship is led by Dr. Johnson and is open to 10 particpants. Each participant will present their own work through audio or video tape accompanied with a transcript of at least 15 minutes of the session. This is an opportunity to receive feedback on your work from Dr. Johnson plus the opportunity to learn from the other group members.

Core Skill Training
EFT core skill training sessions are offered by ICEEFT trainers in different locations. Core skills training consists of small groups (6-10 people) learning the skills essential to the practice of EFT. The training takes place over four weekends, 12 hours each weekend, every three to four months over the space of approximately one year. Participants are required to have completed an EFT externship and be willing to present their own work through audio/videotape presentation.
Attendance qualifies participants for Advanced Externship designation with 36 hours of group supervision.

Interested groups are invited to contact Gail Palmer.

Teleconference (10 Hours)
This teleconference involves a structured discussion of cases led by Dr. Sue Johnson over the phone. Participants need to present one case for one half hour and provide a transcript of the session (6-8 pages) that is shared with all participants. Participants sign up for a teleconference via the listserv or by calling the Center. Teleconferences involve case description and discussion with Sue Johnson and can be counted as supervision hours in the EFT registration process.

To download the teleconference case form, click here.

Clinical EFT Supervision
Supervision in EFT/EFFT is offered by Registered EFT Supervisors and is available on an individual or group basis. Group supervision can also be accessed through teleconferences or core skills training. The key principles of EFT clinical supervision are:

A positive working alliance between the supervisor and supervisee is fostered - safety enchances learning.
Modeling is available: the supervisor actively demonstrates EFT interventions (e.g., demonstrates attachment language and non-verbal behaviours of EFT).
Observation of therapy sessions occurs or transcripts are examined. Role plays with feedback give opportunity for rehearsal.
Feedback to supervisee is clear, focused, supportive, and congruent with supervisee's stage of learning.
Specific elements are pointed out for the supervisee to improve or work on.
Written theory and techniques of the EFT model are referred to and taught in relation to practice (e.g., steps, stages, interventions, experential and non-pathologizing approach).

These principles were formulated with the help of Lisa Palmer-Olsen and the work of Eugene Mead.