So what is the deal with EFT*?

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a gentle, deeply human approach to helping couples feel close again. When you come in, we’re not looking for who’s right or wrong — we’re looking for the cycle you get stuck in, the pattern that keeps you missing each other even when you’re both trying your best. Once we understand that cycle, we can start changing it together.

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EFT is an evidence-based therapy (read more about what that means below), which means it’s been studied, tested, and proven to help couples create lasting change — not just temporary fixes. It’s rooted in real research about love, attachment, and emotional safety. If you’re the kind of person who likes the science behind things, there’s more detailed information later on this page.

I am highly trained in EFT and have worked with hundreds of couples over the years. My approach is direct, compassionate, and effective — I get to the heart of what’s really happening between you and help you rebuild the emotional connection that makes love last.

One of the best layperson books on EFT is Created for Connection by Dr. Sue Johnson. I wrote a blog post about it hereYou can purchase the book on Amazon here. Highly recommended.

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What does “evidence-based” actually mean?

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is considered a leading, evidence-based approach for couples. “Evidence-based” means it’s been tested in clinical research — including randomized controlled trials — and summarized in high-quality reviews, not just based on therapist opinion.

A major systematic review and meta-analysis found that EFT produces very large improvements in relationship satisfaction, with gains that last over time (Hedges’ g ≈ 2.09, which is considered a very large effect):
🔗 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30946225/

Independent reviewers have also examined only the most rigorous randomized controlled trials. An RCT-only meta-analysis found that EFT reliably improves couple outcomes compared to control conditions, placing EFT among the best-supported treatments for relationship distress:
🔗 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31411642/

If you’ve heard the often-quoted “70–75% recovery / ~90% improvement” statistics, those figures come from early research syntheses led by Dr. Sue Johnson and colleagues and are echoed in later reviews. In short: most couples get significantly better, and a strong majority move out of clinical distress:
🔗 https://trieft.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Johnson-EFT-Outcome-Research.pdf

Beyond general relationship distress, EFT has also been tested with couples facing added stressors such as medical illness and depression. Research shows EFT can strengthen emotional bonds while reducing distress — evidence that it helps couples reconnect even under pressure:
🔗 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016349/

A comprehensive narrative review concludes that EFT meets — and in many areas exceeds — formal standards for an evidence-based couple therapy, explaining why it works: by helping partners recognize their negative cycle and build a safer, more responsive emotional connection grounded in attachment science:
🔗 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29294606/

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If you like to read the source studies, here are good starting points:

• Systematic review & meta-analysis (large, durable effects):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30946225/

• RCT-only meta-analysis (gold-standard trials):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31411642/

• Classic early EFT outcome research (origin of recovery statistics):
https://trieft.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Johnson-EFT-Outcome-Research.pdf

• EFT with couples facing medical stress (cancer survivorship):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016349/

• EFT compared to usual care for depression + couple distress:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27119987/

Bottom line, in human terms:
EFT doesn’t just teach communication tips. It helps you identify and change the emotional cycle that keeps you disconnected, so safety, closeness, and real communication become your new normal. That’s what “evidence-based” looks like in real life — measurable change that lasts.