Emotionally Focused Therapy: Session 4

In this course, Dr. Shea Dunham, an expert in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), holds the fourth session with Danielle and Jay, an Afro-American couple who have come to session to work on trust in their marriage. Dr. Dunham's overall goal is to help repair attachment injuries, teach the couple to negotiate different attachment styles, and build security and trust. In this session, she focuses on trying to get Jay to re-frame his experience “to be more about him” and to better understand his relationship. Dunham attempts to get Danielle to accept that new reality. In discussion after the session with series host Dr. Shannon Dermer, Dunham explains the stages and steps of EFT, what she means when she talks about the couple's “dance”, and what it means for a client to see the “accurate experience” of their partner. She further explains the concept of emotional vulnerability, why Jay has had such a huge attachment injury, and the meaning of the Superman/Clark Kent metaphor for Jay.