What is Marriage/Couple and Family Therapy?

Individual Psychotherapy

 I adhere to an attachment lens in my work as a relational  therapist, and pull from multiple healing modalities studied over several years, including Gestalt, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Body-Centred Psychotherapy and Focusing. UsIng these experiential approaches I attempt to align with your unique needs, beliefs, personality, and experience.  

Couples Counselling ( Emotion Focused Couples Therapy)

I combine both experiential, process-oriented approaches and systemic therapies in my work with couples .  

EFT is a short-term, scientifically supported therapy that helps couple identify the underlying dynamics  and create lasting positive changes in their relationships. It is regarded one of the most effective approaches to marriage and couple therapy.  Research studies find that after 10-12 sessions, 70-75% with  90% of couples showing significant improvement.  EFT has been shown to be an effective approach to couples counselling with a variety of issues, including depression, past infidelity, grief and loss, and past trauma.   EFT draws from attachment theory, which asserts that humans are hardwired for strong emotional bonds with others. According to EFT, relationship distress is seen as a result of a perceived threat to this connection.    EFT focuses on what causes relationship distress and provides a detailed map to our distressed patterns that negatively  overtake the opportunity for connection. A new cycle of interaction is established in which both partners are experienced as available and responsive to each others needs. This safe, secure attachment allows couples to be flexible in problem solving — communicate effectively even during conflicts.

Originally developed by Ottawa's own  Dr. Susan Johnson,  EFT revolutionized the field of couple therapy by introducing a new way of exploring couple dynamics through experiencing. I have had the honour of being a student and trainee of EFT since 2003.  

Book recommendation:  Hold Me Tight -Susan Johnson

Family Therapy  (Emotional Focused- Family Therapy - EFFT)

I have several requests from adult children wanting to mend relationships with their parents.   I work with families, specifically those with adult children, to mend bonds and heal fractures within their relationships using systemic and experiential interventions.  As an EFFT therapist with families, I focus on the emotional experiences and problematic  patterns within the family system that block family members from accessing the source of their desired connection, to create new patterns and deepen emotional accessibility and responsiveness.      

"EFFT provides a practical approach to engaging families at an emotional level. Accessing, processing, and connecting family members through the power of emotional experience promotes healing and fosters a family’s resilience to the everyday and unexpected challenges of life."  

Emotionally Focused family Therapy: Restoring Connection and Promoting Resilence

-James L. Furrow, Gail Palmer, S.M Johnson, G. Faller and L. Palmer- Olsen