Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors

Susan M. Johnson, EdD, until her death in 2024, was Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Distinguished Research Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University in San Diego; and Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. "Dr. Sue" was the pioneering innovator of emotionally focused therapy (EFT). She published widely, including acclaimed books for professionals, bestselling books for general readers, and numerous articles, book chapters, and teaching videos. Her seminal contributions to couple therapy have been recognized with the Family Psychologist of the Year Award from Division 43 of the American Psychological Association and the Outstanding Contribution to Marriage and Family Therapy Award from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She was most proud of receiving the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

Most therapists nowadays take for granted the obvious relevance of couple therapy for ruptures of relationship bonds. But what is unique about this book is the vivid and vital way in which Johnson reveals the power of couple relationships to help heal trauma originally experienced by individuals outside those relationships. I hope this book will launch a new era in the psychotherapeutic treatment of PTSD and related disorders. It's that good.--Alan S. Gurman, PhD, University of Wisconsin Medical SchoolWith the increasing recognition that many couples 'problems are related to the traumas of one or both partners comes the need for a new framework for understanding and doing couple therapy. This book succeeds brilliantly in providing such a framework. Skillfully integrating aspects of attachment theory, traumatology, and emotion-focused couple therapy, Susan Johnson enriches each of these fields while also providing practical guidelines for both beginning and seasoned clinicians. This book represents an important advance in the treatment of couples and of trauma survivors. I will be recommending it to all my students and colleagues.--Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, Center for Self Leadership, Oak Park, ILThis book is a major advance in the treatment of traumatized individuals and their partners, and a much-needed resource for clinicians. Dr. Johnson clearly shows how the experience of any kind of trauma can resonate in an individual's significant relationships, thereby compounding and extending the reach of the stressful experience. Offering an important theoretical perspective on the significance of attachment to the healing process, the book outlines a sequenced treatment approach and specific strategies and techniques to help couples rework and recover from the devastating effects of past trauma.--Christine A. Courtois, PhD, The CENTER: Posttraumatic Disorders Program, The Psychiatric Institute of Washington; author of Healing the Incest Wound and Recollections of Sexual AbuseJohnson offers a highly engaging and readable approach for clinicians working with couples affected by trauma. Her brilliant synthesis, based on extensive scholarship and a depth of clinical experience, applies to couples dealing with childhood trauma as well as those mired in past hurts from the relationship itself. Regardless of theoretical orientation, clinicians will learn much that they can apply to help in their most difficult couple cases.--Karen S. Wampler, PhD, Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, Texas Tech University- A well balanced book....A very informative book. It held my attention from cover to cover....Johnson ably demonstrated how the couple can be both worked with therapeutically to ameliorate psychological distress and cause the exasperation of distress....Johnson's EFT has most definitely brought another level of awareness, when working with traumatized clients, to the therapeutic table. --Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 1/20/2005ƒƒ A significant addition to the trauma treatment literature....Case examples are vivid, interesting, and tackle complex issues. Interventions are similarly detailed and well described....Recommended to all therapists working with couples where one or both members of the couple have suffered trauma. --Journal of Trauma Practice, 1/20/2005ƒƒ [Johnson] is an experienced clinician and a gifted writer. Individuals interested in adult attachment processes and the impact of trauma on either individual or relationship functioning, and clinicians committed to intervening with trauma survivors from either an individual or couple perspective, will find this book an invaluable resource. --Relationship Research News, 1/20/2005

• I. Trauma in Context: Healing in Attachment Relationships1. Healing Connections: Expanding the Role of Couple Therapy2. Trauma and Its Aftermath3. Attachment and Trauma4. Assessment5. InterventionsII. Clinical Realities: Couple Therapy with Traumatized Couples6. Couple Therapy to Create a Secure Base for the Treatment of Trauma7. Defeating an Anxiety Disorder and Marital Distress8. The Trauma of Physical Illness9. Couple Therapy with Combat Veterans, Lyn Williams Keeler and Susan M. Johnson10. Relationship Traumas: Attachment Injuries in Close Relationships11. Therapists Who Deal with Dragons