Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy
Do you struggle to articulate what you need, or do you hesitate to engage in expressing emotion in your relationship? Do you find yourself experiencing negative patterns with your partner, where one or both of you struggle with emotion regulation? Maybe you really love each other, but conflict brings out the worst in both of you, and you believe your relationship isn’t as supportive as it could be. Emotionally-focused couples therapy (EFT for short) is a type of evidence-based, experiential therapy intended to help couples strengthen their emotional bonds through deeper attachment. EFT can be beneficial for all forms of relational or marital distress, and it can be particularly useful if one or both partners have a history of trauma.
For emotionally-focused couples therapy, book with:
Dayirai Kapfunde (virtual only)
Kenneth Guye (virtual only)
Samantha LeBlanc
EFT for Couples
We all have varying levels of emotional intelligence and emotional processing. An EFT therapist works closely with emotional and logistical changes in psychotherapy. Instead of taking sides, they strive to deeply understand each person's needs and feelings.
Couples often come to therapy because they fear their relationship is unsalvageable. This can be a scary and tender time full of complex emotions, including anger, fear, betrayal, shame, and sadness.
Emotionally-focused interventions tend to be helpful for couples experiencing:
insecure attachment (one or both of you either withdraws or clings to in times of stress)
difficulties with regulating or expressing negative emotions
repetitive patterns of negative interactions where one or both of you doesn't feel heard
poor conflict resolution due to attachment difficulties or weakened distress tolerance
EFT helps couples expand their emotional awareness and build a more secure attachment bond with one another. You may benefit from this particular modality if you're seeking a non-pathological psychotherapeutic process that promotes a sense of interpersonal safety. An emotionally-focused approach can also augment other forms of individual or family therapy.
What Happens in Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy?
De-escalation and assessment: Your therapist will help you identify and explore the negative patterns of interaction causing emotional distress within the relationship. This is an important stage for understanding how you both engage in emotional experiencing with one another.
Restructuring the bond: Restructuring interactions focuses on promoting healthier emotional engagement. Your therapist will encourage you to share and react to one another's big emotions in a validating, affirming way. You'll also work to change your attachment bonds to build a greater sense of emotional security.
Consolidation and integration: In the last phase, your therapist will help you implement the changes you have made into your daily life. This often entails practicing new communication patterns, resolving ongoing conflict, and preparing roadmaps for navigating future challenges.
What Else Do You Need to Know About EFT for Couples?
Humans intrinsically have a social need to be understood and attuned by others. This is the core basis of attachment theory, and it's a significant premise of most therapy work. We build our emotion schemas based on early emotional experiences, and past relationship difficulties can exacerbate hypervigilance, intense emotional arousal, withdrawal, unease, and other mental health problems.
Poor emotional regulation can also lead to self-criticism and projection in your relationship. For example, anger can quickly spiral into withdrawing from your partner altogether. Or, it may result in you lashing out and treating your partner in a way that you later regret.
EFT therapists pay close attention to how emotional responses shape a couple's emotional experience. No matter your current circumstances, it is possible to restructure your relationship to enjoy a more meaningful, rewarding sense of connection. In this type of treatment, you'll also learn how to openly share your vulnerabilities and ask for what you need from your partner or other loved ones - this is all part of strengthening your emotional brain.
While there are no maladaptive emotions, engaging in negative interaction patterns can perpetuate feelings of stuckness and resentment in relationships. Learning to change or even reconcile how you connect to your partner is a key part of this depth-oriented therapy process.
Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy in Fort McMurray
How to Start Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy
Beginning emotionally-focused couples therapy with Boreal Therapy Collective is easy and requires no referral. You can book your initial assessment here.
Understanding Length of Therapy and Treatment
Your first appointment will be 90-minutes long. For all future appointments, you can choose to book for 1 hour or 90-minutes. During your first appointment, your therapist will ask you and your partner questions to better understand your areas of struggle. This is known as an assessment. Depending on how much you and your partner share, the assessment phase can last anywhere from one to three appointments. The assessment is critical. It helps you, your partner, and the therapist understand your shared goals, and it helps your therapist develop a treatment plan to support you and your partner in achieving these goals.
After the assessment is complete, treatment begins! In the treatment phase, you and your partner will be introduced to a variety of skills to improve communication, strengthen boundaries, and increase emotional intimacy. Most couples will have a therapy session every two weeks, and we recommend this for optimal treatment. Effective EFT typically takes eight to twenty appointments (for some more, others less). Many couples choose to continue therapy once formal treatment is complete. This is referred to as maintenance. Couples that do this typically have an appointment once every six to eight weeks. This is not a requirement and is a matter of personal choice.
Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy at Boreal Therapy Collective
Where We Are Located
We’re located at 8530 Manning Avenue, Unit 104. You’ll find us in the Service Canada building (on the side of the building that faces the Clearwater River). To check out our space, click here.
Parking is located at the front and back of the building. The front parking lot is closer to us but tends to fill up quickly. There is also an empty dirt lot adjacent to our office that many use for parking. If you park at the back (where Service Canada is located), you can walk around the building to reach our office. To learn more about parking, click here.
Importantly, you do not need to be in town for treatment. We offer in-person and virtual therapy and our therapists are happy to provide whatever option works best for you!
Rates & Benefit Coverage
Initial assessments are billed at a rate of $330.00 for a 90-minute appointment. Follow-up sessions are billed at a rate of $220.00/hour or $330.00/90-minutes (you can choose your preferred appointment length when booking).
Our social workers offer direct billing to 25+ benefit providers. Many benefit providers will cover a portion or the whole amount of your therapy session. With your consent, we will always direct bill your benefit provider first. Please note that our Registered Psychiatric Nurses are typically ineligible for direct billing.
If we are unable to direct bill, you can pay via email money transfer or credit card. You will be given a receipt once payment has been collected. For more information on benefit coverage, click here.
