Emotion-Focused Family Therapy: A Transdiagnostic Model for Caregiver-Focused Interventions

In this treatment manual, Adele Lafrance, Katherine A. Henderson, and Shari Mayman provide mental health professionals with guidelines for implementing emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT), an exciting new intervention in which caregivers are the primary healing agents in their loved one’s treatment.

EFFT was initially created to treat eating disorders, and then developed into a transdiagnostic approach that can be applied to any emotion- or behavior-based disorder with various relationship dynamics across the lifespan, including parent–child relationships (even if the child is an adult) and romantic partnerships. The authors describe how to teach caregivers advanced skills for supporting their loved ones through emotion and behavior coaching. Therapists will also learn collaborative strategies for strengthening healing bonds between the caregiver and the loved one and healing relational ruptures.

Techniques for processing caregivers’ emotional blocks are also explored, as are methods for clinicians to work through their own blocks via supervision. Vivid case examples illustrate the implementation of EFFT in a wide variety of realistic scenarios. Clinical handouts are included in the appendices, which are also available under clinician and practitioner resources.