IN PERSON TRAINING
January 18 – 21, 2023, Wednesday – Saturday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
All times for the Externship and Core Skills Trainings are Mountain Time
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples is the fastest growing evidenced-based approach to treating couple distress in the world. Developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, the EFT Model is based on the Science of Emotions, Attachment Theory, Humanistic Psychology and Family Systems Theory. EFT helps couples move from distress in their relationship to a safer, more loving and fulfilling relationship. “In my 40 plus years of doing marital therapy, I have never been able to help highly conflicted couples move from disconnection to a deep, loving bond so effectively as when I learned EFT.” (Murray Armstrong)
Emotionally Focused Therapy offers
A Method Validated by Empirical Research: You can have confidence in a method that has over 30 years of scientific research attesting to its high success rate. Over 90% of couples improve their level of satisfaction in the relationship after completing EFT. Between 70 to 73% of couples recover on standard measures of marital distress and the relapse rate is very low.
An Attachment Framework: EFT is based on a comprehensive and well-researched theory of adult love that helps you to formulate the couple’s presenting issues through an attachment lens to get to the ‘heart’ of the matter and to work with a clear target in sight: - a secure emotional bond.
A Comprehensive Roadmap to Heal Distressed Relationships: EFT is a healing process that produces lasting results in nine steps, divided into three stages. The stages are:
Stage 1: Cycle De-escalation focuses on helping couples unhook from negative patterns of conflict and distancing, ease tension, and diffuse power struggles. The frequency and intensity of conflict decline markedly, creating safety for the Second Stage of therapy.
Stage 2: Restructuring Interactional Positions and Patterns focuses on creating deeper emotional intimacy by structuring new interactions that shape attachment security. During Stage 2 partners engage with their attachment emotions and needs in a manner that creates closeness and enhances responsiveness to each other. The new ways of interacting are integrated in Stage 3.
Stage 3: Consolidation where partners resolve long-standing issues in their relationship, create a clear narrative of moving from distress to security and prepare to end therapy.
Grounded Therapeutic Methods that Work with even the Most Challenging Couples: The empirically validated interventions and change events of EFT enable you to overcome hurdles known to impede the effectiveness of other therapies. For instance, research finds EFT to be highly effective with couples who present with poor prognostic indicators such as couples ready to separate or partners lacking awareness of their feelings.
Effective Interventions for Breaking Through Relationship and Therapeutic Impasses: Intervention techniques are specifically designed to break through highly stuck relationship impasses (e.g. both partners have given up trying to be heard) or attachment injuries (e.g. affairs).
General Objectives - Participants will learn to
Identify the 3 stages and 9 steps of Emotionally Focused Therapy
Learn the 5 Basic Moves of EFT called the “EFT Tango” as a framework to follow during every session regardless of which Stage or Step you are in.
Be introduced to how EFT is used with individuals (EFIT) and families (EFFT)
See marital distress from an attachment perspective
Help couples recognize and de-escalate problematic patterns of interaction
Help couples access the underlying attachment fears and needs that drive these negative patterns
Help couples create new emotional responses to old patterns
Shape key, new interactions and bonding events that result in permanent changes
Help couples repair attachment injuries
Overcome therapeutic impasses.
Overview of Externship
Day 1
The Field of Couple Therapy: The Place of EFT
Theory of Relationships - Adult Attachment Theory – A Map for Change
Basics of the EFT Model - Experiential & Systemic
Learn the EFT Tango.
Theory of Change - Working with Emotion
Overview of the process of change - Stages and Steps
Day 2
Stage 1: Assessment, Alliance, Identifying the Cycle, Steps 1 & 2
Steps 3 & 4
Discussion & Role- Plays
Live or Video Session
Day 3
Overview of EFT Interventions
Introduction to EFT with Families
Change Events - Stage 2
Live or Video Session
Day 4
Live or Video Session
Therapeutic Impasses
Attachment injuries and Forgiveness Process
Becoming an EFT Therapist
Participants will learn through
Presentations of theory and clinical skills
Practice exercises
Video recordings of EFT with couples
Observation of live interviews
Presentation of case examples and clinical issues.
Who Can Attend This Externship?
EFT Externships and Advanced Core Skills trainings are designed for mental health professionals and trainees. Participants are required to note their professional affiliation on registration. To be clear, you must have a Master’s or PhD in an accredited Counselling Program or be taking one of those Degrees. If you are not clear if you qualify, please contact Murray Armstrong at dmarm@telus.net.
What Training Follows the Externship?
The Externship is a prerequisite for Core Skills Training which is a 60 hour, intensive small group Training offered over 5, 2-Day workshops. The Externship and Core Skills are prerequisites for EFT Therapist Certification.
Preparation for the Externship
Before coming to the Externship, participants are strongly encouraged to read Attachment Theory in Practice (2019), Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love (2008), and/or Love Sense (2013) all by Dr. Sue Johnson.
The Externship Leader
Robin Williams Blake, Registered Psychotherapist
Robin is a certified Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) trainer, supervisor, and therapist. Presently, Robin is a faulty member in the graduate program for Sir Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ont.), as well as a guest speaker in their continued education program. This past January he designed and taught the first EFT Core Skills equivalency course to be offered at a Canadian University with his colleague, ICEEFT supervisor Debbie Wang at WLU. In the last few years, Robin has taught EFT at York University in their social work program and was invited by Mount Sinai Hospital to speak at their level two trauma clinic in 2016. He is a former adjunct faculty member at the Living Institute of Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy, where he taught EFT for 5 years. Robin trains EFT for local centers and communities in Fredericton, Cambridge, Toronto, York Region and Edmonton and he co-trained at the Toronto Externship with Sue Johnson in October 2020-2021. For the past 3 years, he has been a regular consultant for Hold Me Tight retreats organized by Toronto Beyond the Blue a not-for-profit organization providing therapeutic services for the Toronto police force and their families. Robin is a co-founder of the Toronto Centre for Emotionally Focused Therapy and has been a director for the Centre since 2005. Robin is a registered psychotherapist and has been in private practice in Toronto for 21 years where he sees individuals, couples and families and provides supervision for therapist working towards certification in EFT.
Assisting the Leader
Murray Armstrong, MSW, RSW
ICEEFT Certified Therapist and Supervisor
EFT Edmonton Community (EFTEC)
Murray and his wife, Donna began the Edmonton EFT Community in 2012. Donna has since passed away, but the Community is growing stronger and larger with Murray’s efforts and the many EFTers within our Edmonton Community. Edmonton is now running its 8th Externship and Core Skills. Murray has been a Certified EFT Supervisor since 2015 and is supervising at the International level as well as in Alberta. In addition, Murray runs Group Supervision sessions and does training programs within the Edmonton EFT Community.
Certification
This Externship is the first step toward certification as an EFT Therapist. Once you register, you will get a letter explaining the next step toward certification which is Core Skills Training.
Cost
Regular Rate is $1,100. No Early Bird Rates or Student rate in order to meet our expenses.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations received in writing 14 or more days prior to this training event a full refund minus a $50.00 administration fee will be issued. Cancellation within 14 days of the event will not be refunded unless a substitute participant is found.
Substitutions: A colleague may attend in your place, at no extra cost; however, notification to the event organizer/coordinator admin@eftedmonton.com must be provided prior to the event in order to correct our records and minimize confusion at registration.
In the event this training is cancelled due to low registration, a full refund will be issued.
Location
The Externship will be held at the following location:
Hilton Garden Inn, West Edmonton
17610 – Stony Plain Road
Edmonton, AB T5S 1A2
780 – 443 - 2233
For More Information
Contact: Erin at admin@eftedmonton.com