Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the Still Face Experiment
What is Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)?
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), developed by Sue Johnson, aims to help couples address and resolve negative emotional patterns and improve their relationships.
Sharing emotions is vital to the human bonding experience. Understanding and addressing emotions is essential to developing and maintaining healthy relationships.
Attachment science
EFT has a foundation in attachment science that tells us from cradle to grave that our relational bonds are crucial and are at the heart of what allows us to thrive.
Emotion focus
EFT is emotion-focused, with a particular focus on those emotions related to attachment and connection.
One of the aims of EFT is to help partners identify and express their emotions in a safe, supportive environment. By doing so, individuals can understand their feelings and those of their partner and build stronger, more positive emotional connections.
Effectiveness
EFT is an effective therapy for couples struggling with a range of emotional and relationship problems. Studies have shown that EFT not only helps improve communication and intimacy in relationships, and enhance overall emotional well-being but surprisingly it also reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression.
EFT believes individuals can develop new, positive, responsive emotional patterns that lead to more satisfying and fulfilling love relationships.
What is The Still Face Experiment?
One of the key influences on the development of EFT was the Still Face Experiment, which psychologist Ed Tronick conducted in the 1970s.
The experiment
The experiment involved a mother and her infant child.
During the experiment, the mother was instructed to interact with her child in a usual way before she turned away, suddenly stopping and adopting a still, unresponsive facial expression.
The experiment was ground-breaking in demonstrating the impact of emotional responsiveness (or lack thereof) on the child's emotional state.
Research findings
As researchers observed the child's reactions to the still face, it became abundantly clear that the lack of emotional responsiveness from the mother was the cause of the child becoming distressed, anxious, and agitated.
Upon being ignored, the child protested and attempted to reach for the mother. She continued, going into a meltdown, until the mother repaired the rupture of trust and restored her need for connection.
Lasting significance
The Still Face Experiment is significant because it highlights the importance of emotional connection in human relationships, particularly parent-child bonds.
It also suggests that a lack of emotional responsiveness can negatively affect the child's psychological development.
The Still Face Experiment has been pivotal in understanding attachment needs throughout our lives. Sue Johnson brought this knowledge to the needs of couples in developing and maintaining emotional bonds and creating happy, healthy relationships.
Attachment Science
From cradle to grave our emotional bonds help us to survive. Attachment theory informs us that our attachment bonds in childhood significantly impact our ability to regulate our emotions and form and maintain healthy adult relationships.
Attachment needs
If, as children, we do not experience an adult who can attune and respond to our feelings and needs, we may develop a pattern where we tend to withdraw, become avoidant, or get stuck in a more vigilant, clingy, anxious style, or possibly a combination of these.
Emotional needs continue to shape our relationships to the extent that they are met or unmet.
Attachment styles can change
We now know that even if our caregivers poorly met our attachment needs in childhood, our ability to create secure adult attachments is possible.
Attachment styles are not fixed and can change over time, particularly with the help of an attachment-oriented therapist.
EFT Research and The Still Face Experiment
EFT draws on the findings of the Still Face Experiment in many ways. According to attachment science, humans have biological wiring to seek emotional connections with others, and that negative emotional patterns in relationships can lead to distress and dysfunction.
Adult relationships
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) recognizes that how adults respond to disconnection in their relationships is similar to how children react to a lack of emotional connection with their primary caregivers.
Just like children, adults may attempt to reach out for emotional connection, protest when their needs are not met, turn away, or even experience emotional meltdowns when they feel threatened or disconnected.
The importance of repair
However, EFT also emphasizes that repair is possible in relationships, no matter how challenging or painful the disconnection may be.
By helping partners recognize and understand their emotional reactions and needs, EFT can support them in communicating their feelings effectively, repairing past hurts, and building stronger emotional connections.
Through EFT, couples can learn to create a secure emotional bond that helps them navigate challenges and build stronger, healthier relationships over time.
A safe, reliable bond is a vital buffer when navigating life's challenges!
Summary
EFT and the Still Face Experiment remain significant and influential in psychology and mental health. They highlight the importance of emotional connections in human relationships and the potential for positive change through understanding and addressing emotions.
For individuals and couples seeking to improve their emotional well-being and relationships, EFT offers a promising approach based on the latest research and understanding of human emotions and relationships.
Individuals and couples can build stronger, more positive emotional connections by identifying and addressing emotional needs. A more fulfilling, satisfying life is possible.
Take the Next Step
Emotionally Focused Therapy research suggests that the health of our relationships is a primary factor in our sense of well-being.
As a seasoned therapist, I have explored the more effective therapies, and having found EFT to be highly transformational, I have studied it in depth.
Give yourself the gift of proven therapy. Contact me today to discuss further in a free 15 minute consultation.