What is Emotion Focused Therapy?

EFT is an approach that goes beyond simply talking through problems or changing your thoughts. Instead, it addresses how your experiences and emotions are stored within you, allowing for deeper, more meaningful healing. This approach is particularly beneficial for individuals who carry complex trauma or unresolved emotions from difficult childhoods, neglect, or challenging relationships.

In EFT, emotions are seen as essential signals that point to our core needs and values. Rather than treating emotions as something to “get over,” EFT encourages you to connect with and understand them. This can be especially transformative for those with childhood trauma, where early experiences may have left emotions “stuck” in a way that affects current life and relationships.

How is EFT different from other therapies?

Many traditional therapies, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), focus on changing thought patterns to feel better. While CBT is effective for many, EFT works from the “inside out”—by starting with emotions rather than thoughts. This is crucial for trauma survivors because emotions, rather than thoughts, are often at the root of the patterns that keep people feeling stuck.

When trauma occurs in early or important relationships, as with childhood trauma or relational trauma, it often affects how we feel about ourselves and others on a deeply emotional level. EFT helps bring these buried or overwhelming feelings to the surface safely, allowing you to work through them, understand them, and ultimately transform them into emotions that support your healing journey.

What can you expect in an EFT session?

In an EFT session, you’ll enter a safe space where you can explore your emotions without judgment. This is particularly helpful for clients who may have a history of pushing emotions away or feeling overwhelmed by them. EFT is experiential, meaning you’re encouraged to truly feel and process emotions, rather than analysing or suppressing them. Together, we’ll explore what your emotions are trying to tell you, and I’ll guide you in working through these feelings so that you feel lighter, clearer, and more grounded.

In therapy, you may encounter emotions that are difficult to face or even unexpected, especially if you’re working through trauma from your past. That’s completely okay. EFT helps you honour where you are, and each session is at your own pace, so you feel safe and supported as you explore these deeply held emotions.

Expanded focusing: An added layer to traditional EFT

In my practice, I also incorporate Melissa Harte’s Expanded Focusing Task. This method takes EFT even deeper by allowing you to slow down and connect with your body’s sensations and responses. While traditional EFT helps you process emotions, Expanded Focusing adds a layer where we explore physical sensations and subtle images that arise.

With Expanded Focusing, we might spend time noticing how your body feels as emotions surface—exploring the messages and memories it might hold from past experiences. Although not part of the standard EFT approach, Expanded Focusing offers a natural extension to the process, adding depth that can be especially helpful if trauma has left you feeling disconnected from yourself or overwhelmed by emotions. By allowing the body to guide you, Expanded Focusing connects you directly to past memories without the conscious mind filtering or interfering. This direct connection can take you straight to the root of the problem, helping you access deeper insights and resolve long-standing emotional patterns. In this way, your body becomes a powerful guide to healing, opening doors to insights beyond words.

Why EFT may Be valuable for healing trauma

For many who’ve experienced childhood trauma, relational trauma, or complex trauma, EFT can be a deeply transformative experience. The therapy focuses not on pushing emotions aside but on listening to them and understanding their messages. EFT offers a pathway to process old pain and move toward feelings like self-compassion, acceptance, or a new sense of safety and calm.

The value of EFT lies in its ability to help you make peace with your emotions, ultimately helping you to see yourself in a new, compassionate light. For those carrying the weight of unprocessed emotions from trauma, EFT allows you to approach your feelings gently, transforming them into tools that support healing and personal growth.

Is EFT right for you?