Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy for the Treatment of Trauma-related Symptoms of the Self

Abstract

Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) is an evidence-based and empirically supported therapy (Wiebe & Johnson, 2016). Although there is significant research on EFT for couples with trauma, there is limited research on the effect of the treatment for trauma of individuals. The study models change in trauma-related symptoms and emotional dysregulation over the course of 12-15 sessions of EFIT treatment with 40 individuals. HLM results confirmed a significant change demonstrating a decrease in trauma-related symptoms of depression, attachment difficulties, and impaired self-reference. The findings did not show any significant decrease in emotional dysregulation across therapy sessions. It should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the study results and lead to limitations, such as incomplete data. The findings support the theoretic assumption that EFIT helps alleviate symptoms of trauma for individuals engaged in therapy.