EFT Couples Therapy Spots Currently Available
Couples Therapy
You feel disconnected and lonely in your relationship even at times when you're together. You're constantly anxious about the relationship and preoccupied with worry even when you’re apart. You find yourself pulling away or engaging in arguments and behaviors you know are only pushing you and your partner further apart despite wanting to experience more connection. You may have found ways to cope that only worked temporarily and are now drained and exhausted from engaging in these painful cycles and feeling so alone in them.
Maybe you are unsure of where the triggers and negative patterns originated from or maybe you know very well where they come from but feel powerless to change them. Maybe you can see the cycles you are caught in but are unable to stop them from continuing. There may or may not have been identifiable attachment injuries within your current relationship that are contributing to the disconnection. Maybe you are reaching out for help for the first time or maybe you've tried other traditional behavioral couple therapy approaches in the past that haven't produced the results you were looking for.
Whatever your experience, if you are struggling within your relationship and wanting to find your way back to a place of secure bond and connection with your partner, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) may be the path you have been searching for.
What is Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy?
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy created by Dr. Sue Johnson is a well researched evidence-based method of couple therapy designed to help couples who want to stay in the relationship but are finding themselves stuck repeating negative patterns and cycles again and again, no matter how hard they've tried to break out of them.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy meets the gold standard for APA evidence-based couple therapy that goes beyond traditional behavioral couples therapy to help you understand what is happening within the relationship and focuses on changing the ways you interact with one another on a much deeper level in the present. EFCT can further help you to better understand yourself and your partner in a way that fosters experiencing personal growth together and disrupts a cycle that was previously causing you to grow apart.
In traditional behavioral couples therapy you can learn all the basic communication skills there are, but if you are not able to become regulated enough to use them together when they're needed most, they most likely will not be effective in the ways you want them to be. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy goes beyond the basics to help formulate a more secure bond between partners, with research demonstrating in follow-up studies that the improvements made in sessions are lasting over time once the sessions are completed and the therapy process is concluded.
In EFCT it is not the needs, wants, or emotions themselves that are problematic but rather the way they are expressed and responded to within the relationship cycle that needs to be examined and shifted with the help of the couples therapist who acts as your relationship consultant throughout the process.
No matter your attachment style or early childhood and other past relational experiences, we know that a safe and connected relationship in adulthood promotes health and healing and helps you move toward secure attachment in relationship. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy focuses on increasing trust and a felt sense of safety within your relationship in order to change painful relational cycles and create an authentic and deep connection between you and your partner.
For more information on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy visit:
The EFCT Couple Therapy Process
During the initial 90 minute intake session, we work to begin understanding the unique relationship between you and your partner with myself as a consultant to your process. It is of the utmost importance to me that all partners feel safe, comfortable, and heard in working with me, all necessary aspects in order for the process of couples therapy to be most effective.
Following the 90-minute intake session where both partners are in attendance, I meet with each partner individually in separate individual sessions in order to obtain a detailed history of past relational experiences and attachment and to better understand each individual partner's goals for the relationship. From there we reconvene all together to determine the best collaborative goals and begin our deep work together.
The frequency of sessions and duration of therapy will be determined collectively based upon the specific needs of the couple and each individual following the initial intake and individual sessions. I do offer intensive couple therapy sessions tailored to your individual couple needs. For further questions on couple therapy intensives, please reach out below to schedule a consultation call.
Based upon information gathered in the initial intake session, I may recommend concurrent individual sessions in order to utilize other methods for processing through past trauma or other adverse experiences, however most of the work we do will be completed all together.
As research shows fit with therapist is one of the most important aspects of the process in couples therapy and crucial to making progress, I offer a complimentary 15 minute consultation call to determine if we would be a great fit to work together before we meet in person. I am happy to answer any additional questions not addressed here at the time of the call. Please fill out the inquiry form below and I will contact you directly to schedule the call. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Premarital Counseling
Congratulations! You and your partner have decided to commit to one another through marriage. This is an extremely important decision with the potential to be one of the best you’ve both made to date! Of course, as you enter into marriage, you want yours to be a healthy, joyful, and fully authentic relationship in which you can both grow together throughout your lives.
Why do Couple Therapy Before Marriage?
You may already be in a place of strong commitment, feeling very confident in your bond with one another, and are seeking to maintain this connection throughout your journey with your partner. You know that even the strongest marriages will experience trials and tribulations throughout your many years together. By identifying and better understanding your unique relationship’s potential challenges and working to strengthen the growth areas of your relationship, you and your partner will have the best chance of working through anything life throws your way.
Many couples can anticipate what challenges may come up within the marriage, and can benefit from having help with how to address them early on. There are also very valid reasons couples may be entering a marriage with differing expectations of what the relationship will look like after you’re married. By identifying and discussing potential challenges, marital expectations, and any differences you have in these expectations, you can be more prepared to work through them in a way that feels caring and supportive for you both.
What is PREPARE/ENRICH Premarital Counseling?
In my practice I utilize an evidence-based assessment tool called PREPARE/ENRICH in order to help you and your partner better identify your strengths and areas for growth. Both you and your partner will complete a comprehensive online assessment prior to us meeting altogether. We will then review the results of the assessment together and discuss any other concerns you are experiencing as you move toward the important next step of marriage.
During the process of reviewing the assessment and facilitating authentic communication between you and your partner, I utilize skills to help you deepen your understanding of one another and improve your communication in discussing differences and growth areas.
What Does Premarital Counseling Entail?
Premarital counseling can assist couples in better understanding and communicating through differing expectations of what a marriage may entail and serve as a preventative way to address any issues before they become more problematic later on. Some examples of specific issues that may be examined in premarital counseling include:
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Family-of-Origin Dynamics
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Finances
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Career Dynamics
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Communication
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Navigating Strong Emotions
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Sex and Intimacy
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Values
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Beliefs
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Love Languages
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Forgiveness
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Goal Establishment
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Blended Family Issues
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Personality Differences
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What Are the Goals of Premarital Counseling?
The goals of the PREPARE/ENRICH program include:
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Exploring your unique relationship’s strength and growth areas
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Being able to talk openly with one another about your relationship and any areas of concern
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Strengthening communication skills, conflict resolution, financial management, and stress management
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Exploring your relationship and your families-of-origin using the Couple & Family Maps
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Helping you and your partner to better understand and respect personality differences
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Increase insight and awareness in important areas such as marital expectations, sexuality, and beliefs
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Help you and your partner develop personal, couple, and family goals for the future
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My primary goal in working with couples in premarital counseling is to help you and your partner to enter into this next phase of your lives together in a way that deepens your bond and sets you up for marital success. If you are wondering if premarital counseling might be right for you or have any further questions not addressed above, please reach out directly below to schedule a 15 minute complimentary consultation call to discuss further. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
My name is Courtney Fyvolent, I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of South Carolina and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida. I am a Nationally Certified Counselor, nationally certified in the EMDR trauma protocol and the RTM protocol, and I am an Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist. I provide in-person therapy services in Greenville, SC and online individual and couple therapy throughout South Carolina and Florida. I specialize in working with individuals and couples with a history of relational trauma using EMDR and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy to help you disrupt painful relational patterns and experience deep inner healing and connection in your relationship with self and others.
Please contact me directly below to find out more about my approach to therapy and to get started with a complimentary consultation call today. I look forward to speaking with you soon!
