This article introduces the special section "New Research Findings on Emotionally Focused Therapy." Emotionally focused couple therapy researchers have a strong tradition of outcome and process research and this special section presents new findings from three recent studies. The first study furthers the goal of determining the kinds of clients…

This article reviews the research on couple therapy over the last decade. The research shows that couple therapy positively impacts 70% of couples receiving treatment. The effectiveness rates of couple therapy are comparable to the effectiveness rates of individual therapies and vastly superior to control groups not receiving treatment. The…

In response to a series of national policy reports regarding what has been termed the "quality chasm" in health and mental health care in the United States, in January 2003, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy convened a task force to develop core competencies (CC) for the practice of marriage and family therapy (MFT). The…

The goal of this study was to use task analysis to verify that the attachment injury resolution model described in this article discriminates resolved from nonresolved couples. Twenty-four couples with an attachment injury received, on average, 13 sessions of emotionally focused therapy (EFT). At the end of treatment, 15 of the 24 couples were…

Suggests not an exclusive focus on emotion in couples therapy, but rather, the inclusion of emotion into an integrative approach which involves affect, cognition, and behavior in a systemic framework. Affect has too long been neglected both as an agent of therapeutic change and as a direct target of change. (Author/ABL)

Using a network theory of emotion, the role of the evocation of emotion in emotionally focused marital therapy to create intimacy and facilitate conflict resolution is discussed. Accessing underlying primary emotional responses in partners makes available adaptive action tendencies which promote problem solving and helps change self- and…

Assessed Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy at initial contact, after an eight-week waiting period, after eight therapy sessions, and at eight-week follow-up. Couples reported no significant changes on measures of dyadic adjustment, intimacy, target complaint reduction or goal attainment after the waiting period, but they reported significant…

Discusses the application of emotionally focused marital therapy (EFT) with couples for which one or both of the partners have experienced significant trauma. EFT, in the context of trauma, incorporates the nine steps of conventional EFT and the three stages of the constructivist self-development theory of trauma treatment. (Author/MKA)

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for couples was compared to pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Both interventions were equally effective in symptom reduction. Results suggest EFT might be useful in the treatment of comorbid major depressive disorder and relational distress. (Contains 34 references and 1 figure.) (GCP)

Identifies and operationalizes construct of attachment injury, an injury that occurs when one partner violates the expectation that the other will offer comfort in times of danger or distress. This incident becomes a clinically recurring theme and creates an impasse that blocks relationship repair in couples therapy. (BF)

Couples with chronically ill children are particularly at risk for experiencing marital distress. The study presented here is a 2-year follow-up of a randomized control trial that assessed the efficacy of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) in decreasing marital distress in a sample of couples with a chronically ill child. Thirteen couples with…

Compared relative effectiveness of two interventions in treatment of marital discord: a cognitive-behavioral intervention (teaching problem-solving skills) and an experiential intervention (focusing on emotional experiences). The effects of emotionally focused treatment were found to be superior to problem-solving treatment on marital adjustment,…

Analyzed process of change in "best" sessions of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy (EFT). Rated client performance in therapy on depth of experiencing and quality of interpersonal interactions. Noted occurrences of particular change events arising from theoretical principles of EFT. Confirmed that higher levels of experiencing and more…