ABOUT MY APPROACH & EFT…
“In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare.”
– Robert Sexton
Couples work is one of my primary commitments. I’ve studied with many of the leaders in the field, and have done formal training in a number of different approaches.
My work with couples has been influenced by John Gottman, Stan Tatkin, Dan Wile, the Cape Cod Model of the Gestalt International Study Center, and — most of all — the work of Sue Johnson, who developed “Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples” – or “EFT.”
In EFT, helping you create a secure bond with one another is at the center of the work. Couples therapy isn’t about fault or blame, and I don’t “take sides.” If anything is to blame for the distress a couple is feeling, it’s the negative pattern of interaction they get caught in. This pattern is often painfully familiar to both parties, though neither knows how to change it. Stuck patterns of fighting and/or avoiding increase the emotional isolation that each person is going through, often leading to sadness, anger, and mutual blame. I help couples identify the painful pattern in how they interact, and then I help them join forces to change it together.
Many people are unaware that most couples therapy has a miserable success rate. Decades of research have showed that standard approaches are successful only 30%-35% of the time. But with EFT, the success rate rises to 70%-75%. This means that 70%-75% of couples “move from distress to full recovery,” while approximately 90% show “significant improvement” by their own self-rating.
My work is about helping you and your partner feel connected again — helping you find ways to join together as a team, support each other, and feel each other’s support.
For more information on EFT, visit The New England Community for EFT and The International Centre for Excellence in EFT.
To make an appointment, please go to the Schedule Appointments page of this website, and follow the instructions there — or call (401) 709-4295.