Emotionally Focused Family Therapy: Rebuilding Family Bonds

Relationships with parents, siblings, and other family members go through transitions as they move along the life cycle. Resilient families realign their relationships to respond to the changing demands and stressors within the family system. Those who are unable, find themselves in repetitive patterns marked by conflict and distress, often resulting in their need to seek treatment. Based on attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is a pragmatic short-term treatment approach designed to alleviate distress in family functioning. This chapter provides an overview of EFFT process, its theoretical underpinnings and the strategies EFT family therapists employ to promote positive outcomes. The presentation of a case study provides a unique lens where the therapist illustrates moment to moment interventions in an attempt to create new and more favorable family interactions, ones that enhance family members’ feelings of attachment, empathy, communication and stability