DESCRIPTION:

Clinical Demonstration and Analysis, Part 1

DEMONSTRATION OF PHASE 1, STEP 3 WITH ANALYSIS

In clinical clip four, Sue Johnson creates a corrective emotional experience focused on Craig’s fears. She begins by going deeper into feelings and identifying the dysfunctional dance in the context of attachment theory. Throughout this clip, she clarifies and amplifies attachment-related emotions and reactions and she identifies and names each partner’s triggers.

OUTLINE:

After summarizing the situation, Susan Johnson moves into deepening Craig’s feelings and giving them a name.  She begins: It must be hard for you—not knowing what to do.

Craig explains that he tries to talk his wife out of her sadness or irritation, but that doesn’t work. Craig articulates that he is often feeling “blindsided” by his wife’s mood swings. Notice how Sue uses that word in other parts of the session as they explore the role of attachment-related emotions in the couple’s dance of disconnection.

At one point Craig asks: What does this mean for the immediate future.

Notice how Sue jumps in to:

• Refocus Craig on emotions rather than reflective cognition
•  Amplify his predicament and what happens to him when he gets “blindsided.”  
• Deepen that experience by referring to body cues and alarm cognitions
•  (Note the switch to a more direct language) To validate that his approach makes sense since he’s a scientist  
• Assert that he cannot dance alone in his head

Sue responds to Craig’s fear that sharing his emotions might make things worse by:

• Summarizing in detail the drama of his emotional response
• Ordering the emotional experience
• Distilling a signal to give to his wife
• Deepening the experience to set up corrective emotional experience

The corrective emotional experience that follows allows Craig to articulate to his wife both his fear and his love for Michelle. He does this with a little help from Sue. She asks him to look at his wife and tell her what he sees. He responds: I see compassion, I see a listening soul. Sue validates and affirms him, pointing out that nothing bad happened.

Sue then turns to Michelle to involve her in the completion of the corrective emotional experience. The invitation: Can you help him out here? How was that for you?

This clinical clip ends with Sue Johnson processing what happened in the enactment and correction including the feeling of connection. She summarizes what’s been learned by each partner about needs, triggers, emotions, the effect of reactive behaviors and what’s required for them to connect.

Here’s a summary of how Sue Johnson has moved through the EFT Phase 1 process as illustrated by the first 3 clinical demo clips. The therapist:

• Tracks the negative cycle.
• Identifies the emotions, attachment issues and reactive behaviors that fuel the cycle.
• Helps each partner understand the cycle including his or her triggers and reactive behaviors through re-enactments within the session.
• Reframes the issue as a battle about connection and disconnection
• Creates corrective emotional experiences that help partners understand each other’s pain and de-escalate the emotional dance.

At that point, both partners and the therapist agree: the dance is the enemy.

                DEMONSTRATION OF PHASE 1, STEP 4 WITH ANALYSIS

EFT healing takes place in real time, in the clinical session through enactments and the creation of corrective emotional experiences—this is a unique feature of the approach.

In this final video demo clip, Sue Johnson refers to the enactments we’ve seen earlier in the session in order to validating the couple’s progress and affirm her hope in them for the future. She also sees an opportunity in closing for another, related corrective emotional experience when she invites and coaches Craig in expressing what happens for him when his wife becomes angry. It is a second clarifying experience for the couple and another great example of how easily these corrective experiences can be created in real time in the clinical session.

Sue summarizes for Craig what she’s heard him say and what he’s tried—showing up emotionally—in the context of an experiment. She validates his courage in doing this. He confirms his experience and what he’s learned by saying the fix is not to fix it.

Sue switches briefly to psycho-education confirming that Loneliness is a depression pill. Note how Sue changes her tone—to more factual—for this educational piece.

She turns to Michelle to confirm that the experience is what she’s been wanting and asking for. Michelle says it does, confirming it felt good.

Sue returns to Craig to ask him to amplify what it was like for him to take that emotional risk. Sue emphasizes that this is a new behavior and different from what they’ve done before.

She affirms and validates his courage in trying this new, vulnerable behavior as well as his ability to actually carry it out. He comments that he can see from her response that it comforts his wife.

Sue takes them deeper into emotion, looking at the anger issue in their relationship. They establish that when Michelle gets angry, Craig gets frightened then angry. Sue does another enactment where Craig tells Michelle that when she gets angry, he becomes alarmed.

Sue wraps up, asking them how they’re doing. She then validates any doubts they may have at this point and reminds them that choreographing the new dance will take time and take place over time.

Again this points to the key dynamic of EFT healing: It takes place in real time, in the clinical session through enactments and the creation of corrective emotional experiences.

OBJECTIVES:

List the requirements for creating and maintaining safety in EFT sessions.

Describe 3 steps for “ordering” a client’s emotion to make them  manageable and accessible.