Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) for Grief: Attachment-Based Interventions to Move Clients Through Loss into Growth and Resilience

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Susan Johnson, EdD Related seminars and products

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The late Susan Johnson, EdD, was a best-selling author, clinical psychologist, distinguished research professor, dynamic speaker, and recognized innovator who changed the field of couple therapy. Sue was the primary developer of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which has demonstrated its effectiveness in over 30 years of peer-reviewed clinical research. She was the director of the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy and a distinguished research professor at Alliant University in San Diego, California, as well as professor of clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She trained behavioral health providers in EFT worldwide and is still recognized as one of the most prominent researchers and presenters in the couple therapy field.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Sue Johnson had employment relationships with University of British Columbia, Campbell & Fairweather Psychology Group, Alliant International, University Ottawa, Couple and Family Institute, and the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. She received royalties as a published author. Dr. Johnson received a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She had no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Sue Johnson served on the editorial board for the American Journal of Family Therapy (AJFT) and the journal Couple and Family Psychology: Research & Practice.

Leanne Campbell, PhD Related seminars and products

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Leanne Campbell, PhD, is a registered psychologist, author, researcher, and co-founder and managing partner of Campbell & Fairweather Psychology Group. As an ICEFT (International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy) Certified Trainer, Dr. Campbell has spent over 30 years providing psychological services to individuals, couples, and families while training professionals worldwide in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), with a particular focus on grief and trauma.

She is the co-author of A Primer for Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT): Cultivating Growth and Fitness in Every Client, written with the late Dr. Sue Johnson, and also contributed to Becoming an Emotionally Focused Therapist: The Workbook (2nd Edition). Dr. Campbell’s dedication to advancing EFT principles and her commitment to helping others grow through emotionally focused interventions have made her a foremost authority in the field.  

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: T. Leanne Campbell maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: T. Leanne Campbell is a board member International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. She is a member of the Canadian Psychological Association, the College of Psychologists of British Columbia, and the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy.

 

Objectives

1. Apply attachment theory principles to case conceptualization of clients experiencing grief.
2. Evaluate the three stages of the EFIT model to inform clinical treatment interventions for grief-related symptoms.
3. Describe four pre- and post-loss attachment-related factors and their clinical implications.
4. Apply the CARE model to contextualize clients’ loss experiences within their attachment history.
5. Create imaginal encounters for grieving clients to evoke adaptive emotion, facilitate self-compassion, and provide attachment resources.
6. Employ at least three interventions focused on reflecting and understanding clients’ grief-related emotions.

Outline

• The attachment view of love and loss
• Grief trajectories and the key role of resilience
• Implications of specific types of losses (e.g., anticipatory, traumatic, non-death losses)
• Pre- and post-loss factors

• How to build a safe-haven alliance
• The view of self in relationship from a developmental attachment perspective
• CARE model: Tuning in and staying attuned to four main channels
• Guidelines for gauging the process and charting the course of therapy

• The organic model of growth and change - working with vulnerability and spotting negative cycles of coping
• EFT “Tango” across stages
  • Mirroring/reflecting present process
  • Affect assembly and deepening
  • Choreographing engaged encounters with self and others
  • Processing these choreographed encounters to create emotional balance
  • Integrating and validating new experience
• How and when to use micro interventions of evocative questioning, reflection, and interpretation
• Case studies
• Limitations of the research and potential risks

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Social Workers
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Case Managers
• Psychiatrists
• Mental Health Professionals