The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection
Also known as Creating Connection, Creating Connection (Johnson, 1996; 2nd ed. 2004), The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, The Practice of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy: Creating Connection
Sue Johnson's clinical manual of emotionally focused couple therapy, in three editions
At a glance
What it argues
An attachment view of love, Change within and between, Track the cycle and the emotion
See all 3Key ideas
Defining the dance, Three stages, The EFT Tango …
See all 5Examples from the book
Two sessions annotated
Criticism and limits
Contested evidence
Read next
Hold Me Tight, Attachment Theory in Practice, Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy: The Dynamics of Emotion, Love, and Power
See all 3Connections
Sue Johnson, Emotionally focused couples therapy and Attachment theory
See all 3
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Sue Johnson's manual for therapists on emotionally focused couple therapy.
- It frames adult love as attachment and change as happening both within each partner and between them.
- Therapy moves in stages: de-escalate the negative cycle, deepen engagement and reach for secure connection, then consolidate a secure base.
- The third edition adds the EFT Tango, a set of macro-interventions, and micro-skills for sessions.
Why it matters
- For therapists who want to practise emotionally focused couple therapy; it has been the standard guide since 1996.
- Couples themselves should start with Hold Me Tight.
Key facts
- Author
- Susan M. Johnson1
- Published
- 1996; third edition 20191
- Second edition
- 20042
- Publisher
- Brunner/Mazel (1996), then Brunner-Routledge; Routledge (3rd ed.)2
- Pages
- 332 (3rd ed.)1
- ISBN (3rd ed.)
- 97808153480161
- Audience
- Couple therapists, supervisors and students1
- Original title
- Creating Connection: The Practice of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy2
What it argues
-
An attachment view of love1
Chapter 2 sets out the attachment view of adult love on which EFT rests.
-
Change within and between1
Chapter 3: the EFT theory of change works inside each partner and in the interaction between them.
-
Track the cycle and the emotion3
Two sets of interventions: one restructures interaction patterns, one accesses and reprocesses emotion.
Key ideas
-
Defining the dance1
Assessment maps the couple's pattern and 'listens to the music' of their emotions.
-
Three stages1
De-escalation and stabilization; deepening engagement and reaching for secure connection; consolidating a secure base.
-
The EFT Tango1
A systematic set of macro-interventions, introduced in the third edition.
-
Attachment injuries1
A chapter on relationship traumas and how to address them.
-
Beyond couples1
The third edition adds emotionally focused family therapy.
Examples from the book
-
Two sessions annotated1
Two case chapters comment in depth on a Stage 1 and a Stage 2 session, one recorded live at an EFT externship.
Criticism and limits
-
Contested evidence3
A 1999 meta-analysis by Johnson and colleagues found large effects; psychologist James Coyne called it a poor-quality analysis of pilot studies by the therapy's promoters.
Read next
-
The same model written for couples.
-
Johnson extends the model to individuals and families.
-
Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy: The Dynamics of Emotion, Love, and Power
Greenberg and Goldman's alternative couples model.
Connections
Links
Sources
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