Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Certificate Retreat

Credit

Speaker

Kathryn DeBruin, LMFT Related seminars and products

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Kathryn de Bruin is a world-renowned Marriage and Family Therapist, certified EFT Trainer, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor. Kathryn has lived on 3 continents and now makes her home in the USA. She has authored two books for therapists and young families, as a global educator she has trained couple and family therapists from Eastern Europe, in Europe, in the Middle East, Africa and the United States. She has provided retreats for couples in Malaysia, South Africa and in the USA. 

She has a private practice serving California and Utah, specializing in healing relational bonds for children, individuals, couples, and families. She's a co-host of the Family Therapy Express, which is enjoyed by parents and therapists. Kathryn was named one of the top 10 family counselors in San Diego in 2024. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and was selected for Who's Who in America in 2004. Kathryn co-founded a non-profit called Conexa International that develops localized healing resources for mental and relational health in communities around the world. For more information visit her online at www.kathryndebruin.com.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Kathryn DeBruin maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with Bethel University and the UCSD Extension Program. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Kathryn DeBruin is a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, the Association of Play Therapy, and the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.

Additional Info

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Objectives

1. Identify the three stages of the EFT model and which stage a couple is in based on observable session markers.
2. Analyze negative interactional cycles (pursue-withdraw, withdraw-withdraw) by mapping triggers, secondary emotions, primary emotions, and attachment fears for each partner.
3. Utilize the 5-move Tango intervention sequence (reflect, assemble, choreograph, process, integrate) through role-play with appropriate pacing and language.
4. Differentiate between primary emotions (fear, shame, hurt, longing) and secondary emotions (anger, frustration) in couple interactions using nonverbal and verbal cues.
5. Apply evocative questions and empathic conjecture to access and deepen underlying attachment emotions.
6. Develop therapeutic enactments that facilitate vulnerable emotional sharing between partners.
7. Utilize RISSSSC techniques (Repeat, Image, Simple, Slow, Soft, Somatic, Client words) to heighten and expand emotional experiencing.
8. Use the withdrawer re-engagement protocol by accessing negative self-view, facilitating assertion of needs, and supporting partner responsiveness.
9. Develop pursuer softening by moving partners from critical anger to vulnerable longing and fear of abandonment.
10. Evaluate when EFT is appropriate versus contraindicated and identify safety concerns, risk factors, and appropriate referral criteria.
11. Examine attachment injuries in couple relationships and apply the 5-step healing protocol to address relational betrayals.
12. Integrate sexuality assessment and intervention within the EFT framework by identifying sealed-off, solace, and synchrony sexual patterns.
13. Formulate responses to therapeutic impasses (client-level, therapist-level, process-level) using specific interventions to restore treatment progress.
14. Analyze all EFT concepts to develop comprehensive case conceptualizations from initial assessment through consolidation and termination.

Outline

Module 1: EFCT  Beginning the EFT healing process

• Attachment from theory to science, relevant research
• Sex and couples, Sexual and Emotional cycle
• Working with emotion
• In-session clip
• Break out exercise – link the protection to the feeling
• Introduction to the 3 EFT Stages: EFT Map
• Introduction to the 5 moves of the EFT Tango
• Q and A

Module 2: Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: Stage 1

• Step 1 Alliance and Assessment
• Multicultural orientation: cultural humility, opportunities, and comfort
• Step 2 Figuring out the negative cycle
• In-session clip
• Break out exercise – conceptualizing a case
• Q and A
• Step 3 and 4
• Demo – escalated couples

Module 3: Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: Stage 2

• Restructuring the bond: withdrawer re-engagement & pursuer softening
• Session clip
• Break out exercise – risking and reaching mindfulness
• Q and A
• Injuries
• Define an attachment injury in EFT
• In-session clip
• Q and A

Why Most Couples Therapy Fails (And What Actually Works)

• Why traditional approaches leave couples stuck, how EFT achieves superior recovery rates
• Screening essentials: when EFT is appropriate, contraindicated, risks and ethical boundaries
• Attachment science foundations: from Bowlby and Ainsworth to adult romantic bonds
• Theoretical integration: Rogers, Minuchin, and Arnold in action
• Live demonstration: Watch an initial EFT session unfold
• Case conceptualization practice: apply the attachment lens to your couples

The EFT Roadmap and Essential Treatment Structure

• The EFT Map, 3 stages, and 9 steps: visual guide to know where you are and what comes next
• The 5-move Tango: your core intervention sequence for every session
• Cultural considerations to adapt EFT for diverse populations
• Session structure: prepare couples, end strategically, and maintain between-session stability
• Skill practice: Identify stages and steps from session transcripts

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Physicians
• Physician Assistants
• Nurses
• Nurse Practitioners
• Other Mental Health Professionals