Emotionally Focused Therapy in Massachusetts

What Makes EFT Different

A lot of couples therapy teaches communication skills or tries to get you to fight fair, and Emotionally Focused Therapy goes to the bond under the skills, using attachment science and the need for a secure connection with the person who matters most. When that connection feels threatened, criticism, withdrawal, and defensiveness show up as attachment behaviors, a bid to get the connection back that often pushes your partner farther away, and EFT is how you see that pattern clearly enough to step out of it.

The Research Behind EFT

EFT is the most extensively researched model for couples work that is available, and the outcomes are specific.

• 90% of couples report significant improvement after they complete EFT.
• 70-75% of couples no longer meet criteria for relationship distress after treatment.
• The gains hold up in follow-up studies years after therapy ends.
• Results show up across cultures, relationship types, and the problems couples bring in.

These figures come from peer-reviewed research across three decades, which is why EFT is the spine of the work I do with couples.

How EFT Works

Stage 1 - De-escalation: We name the negative cycle that keeps you stuck, so you can see it while it is happening and step out of it.

Stage 2 - Restructuring: You reach the attachment needs and fears under the fight and say them in a form your partner can answer, including a sentence like, I criticize because I am terrified you do not care.

Stage 3 - Consolidation: The new way of reaching becomes more ordinary, you catch the cycle earlier, and you can repair when I am not on the screen.

Who Benefits from EFT

EFT is a strong fit for couples dealing with the problems below. The model was built for these, and the research includes them.

• Communication breakdown and a conflict that has become the climate of the house.
• Infidelity and betrayal, once the injury is treated as an attachment rupture and not a skills deficit.
• Intimacy and connection problems, including the stretch where you live like roommates.
• Emotional distance that has gone on long enough to feel normal.
• A life transition that is straining the relationship, including a baby, a move, or a career change.
• Attachment injuries from this relationship, or from earlier ones that keep getting triggered here.

Read more

• Infidelity recovery
• Intimacy and connection
• FAQs on fees and how sessions work

EFT Therapy in Massachusetts

I provide Emotionally Focused Therapy to couples throughout Massachusetts on secure video. Whether you are in Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Wellesley, or anywhere else in the state, you can do this work from a private room at home.

I also see couples in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. I am licensed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. You need to be physically in one of those states during the session. Sessions are 90 minutes on Zoom. I only see couples. I am trained in EFT, and I also use Gottman Method tools from Level 3 training.