Research Program

One objective of our research program is to build a deeper understanding of the therapeutic process of change in the EFT approach. Specifically, our research to date has addressed some of the following questions:

• What is the therapist doing in-session moment-by-moment that promotes change in the EFT model? Our interest is in better understanding how change unfolds in the dynamic interchange between therapist and the client(s), and creating effective training strategies to support successful practice of the EFT approach.
   
• Are there predictable patterns of client responses to EFT interventions? We are interested in understanding the role of emotional experiencing as a catalyst for relationship / systemic change in couples therapy. Our focus is on identifying how evocative interventions are used effectively to promote a deeper level of client emotional and attachment related experience.
   
• How is an understanding of adult attachment central to promoting systemic change in relationships? Our projects include efforts to deepen our understanding of attachment significant events in a couple/families relationship history and the significance of these events to assessment and treatment using EFT.

Our research program values discovery-oriented approaches to process research that grounds clinical observation and analysis within the moment to moment experiences of therapy. This often takes the specific form of methodology titled Task Analysis (Bradley & Johnson, 2005). We value the application of other methodological approaches, but our current central focus is on promoting a deeper understanding of the EFT model in practice.
 

Current Research Projects

Softening Events in EFT: Tracking the Average Clinician in the Trenches

Bradley and Furrow (2004) completed a task analysis to discover therapist behaviors utilized in blamer softening events in EFT. The study has proven an important contribution to the training of therapists with this model (Snyder, Castellani, & Whisman (2006), given that the blamer softening event is often the most elusive yet essential aspect of the EFT change process (Johnson 2004; Johnson, et al. 2005). While the study provides a mini-theory for this important change event, the clinical material analyzed in the study relied solely on sessions conducted by one of the originators of the model.

We are currently conducting a research study of the blamer softening event based on the study of practitioners trained in EFT. This follow-up study provides a "field-based" analysis of softening events facilitated by second and third generation therapists. Results from the study promise to confirm and inform the mini-theory as initially proposed. The study will recruit 10 clinical examples of a blamer softening events that will be analyzed using task analysis.

Client Responses and Therapist's Interventions in Successful and Unsuccessful Blamer Softening Events

This study compared therapist interventions and client responses in successful and unsuccessful softening events. The analysis of each attempted softening events provides a better understanding of the relationship between therapist interventions and a client's level of emotional experiencing. The client's level of experiencing is evident in the persons level of engagement in the therapeutic process, which typically includes a turning to explore one's personal experience.

Specifically, the study tested the assumption that client emotional experiencing is important to a successful softening event. The analysis sought to identify the interventions that promoted a heightened slevel of experiencing. Findings from the analysis provide further confirmation of the softening mini-theory by providing a detailed analysis of client responses to therapist attempts to facilitate blamer softening.

Preliminary results of this study provide further support for the initial mini-theory. Findings suggest that therapist's focus on particular themes is as important as the use of particular interventions. Therapist focus on the theme of the blamer's fear of reaching proved important in predicting client's level of experiencing. The findings suggest that a successful softening event includes the therapist's intentional focus on increasing level of client experiencing up to the actual point of restructuring the couple's pattern of interaction.

Identifying Attachment Injuries: A Conceptual Model of Assessment

Betrayal events in couples relationships are receiving increased attention in treatment literature. Attachment Injuries, (Johnson, Makinen, & Millikin, 2001), represent a similar but broader description of events which result in a significant breech of trust in a couple's relationship. Often these attachment injuries result in impasses in couples therapy. Previous studies called for the identification and analysis characteristics common to these relational ruptures. Naaman, et al. (2005) suggested that factors such as the recency of the injury, each partner's attachment styles prior to injury, and the genders of the respective injuring and injured partners may shed light on the nuances of injury occurrence and resolution between different couples. This study uses content analysis of a clinical sample of couples where an attachment injury is present. Following a constant comparison approach the analysis aims to develop a more detailed understanding of these injuries and their link to impasses in EFT treatment.