Gail Palmer, RMFT, MSW is one of the founding members of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute and Co-Director of the International Center of Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist in Canada. Over the past 30 years, Gail has worked closely with Dr. Sue Johnson, creator of Emotionally Focused Therapy, and is an experienced supervisor and trainer in EFT. She currently offers workshops, externships and core skills trainings to mental health professionals in a variety of different settings across the world. She chairs the ICEEFT Education Committee and is responsible for mentoring and training EFT trainers internationally. Gail is an adjunct faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada and a sessional lecturer at Oxford University, Oxford, England.
Gail has a particular interest in applying the model with work with families. For the past decade, Gail has been one of the lead EFT trainers who have developed and expanded on Sue Johnson’s EFFT method as described in Johnson, S.M. (2004) The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection. New York, NY: Brunner Routledge. This work has included EFFT trainings across North America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand, presentations at EFT summits, workshops at the Networker and AAMFT, publications in the EFFT workbook and casebook, articles in professional journals and the ICEEFT newsletter. Professionally, Gail’s primary passion is to help therapists who are both new to EFT and trained in EFT, to bring the powerful interventions and skills of this model to the family therapy room.
Gail has a particular interest in applying the model with work with families. For the past decade, Gail has been one of the lead EFT trainers who have developed and expanded on Sue Johnson’s EFFT method as described in Johnson, S.M. (2004) The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection. New York, NY: Brunner Routledge. This work has included EFFT trainings across North America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand, presentations at EFT summits, workshops at the Networker and AAMFT, publications in the EFFT workbook and casebook, articles in professional journals and the ICEEFT newsletter. Professionally, Gail’s primary passion is to help therapists who are both new to EFT and trained in EFT, to bring the powerful interventions and skills of this model to the family therapy room.
Introduction to Emotionally Focused Family Therapy - $425 (Early Bird August 1st, 2019 $400)
Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy along with Introduction to EFFT - $800 (Early Bird August 1st, 2019 $750)
Note: Introduction to Emotionally Focused Family Therapy is a prerequisite for the Advanced Training. The Advanced training is also limited to 20 participants.
Location: University Club at the University of Victoria, BC
Register: by contacting Shelley Dewar at shelley_dewar@shaw.ca
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Introduction to Emotionally Focused Family Therapy
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is an attachment-based approach that combines both systemic and experiential interventions to mend broken bonds and heal fractured families. EFFT therapists focus on the emotional experience within a family and the problem patterns that block family members from accessing the resources they would otherwise share. A primary goal of EFFT is to reduce problematic behavior by creating new patterns of emotional accessibility and responsiveness that offer a secure base for children to develop and families to thrive. EFFT provides a practical approach to engaging families at an emotional level. Accessing, processing, and connecting family members through the power of emotional experience promotes healing and fosters a family’s resilience to the everyday and unexpected challenges of life.
This workshop will demonstrate how the EFT model of working with couples is extended and modified to fit the family context. Attention will be given to how EFT practice with families is different and what additional skills are needed. For example, how to process parental blocks to emotional accessibility and responsiveness while also keeping the child safe will be a dynamic addressed. Participants will learn a powerful transformative approach that is foundational in helping parents and children who are struggling with remaining securely attached.
Workshop Format
This workshop will combine didactic instruction, experiential exercises, and case examples to demonstrate the practice of EFFT. Participants are encouraged to bring examples from their casework to explore the application of EFFT to their own work. When possible, live demonstration sessions are included.
Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy Training
Prerequisite: EFFT 2 day introductory workshop
This workshop will focus on the core competencies integral to the practice of Emotionally Focused Family Therapy. The two days will offer in-depth skills training through a combination of brief lectures, video demonstrations, live modelling, case discussions, and supervised role-playing practice. The interventions of EFT as it applies to the family context will be described and demonstrated and participants will have the opportunity to practice EFFT core skills in a small group setting. Emphasis in this workshop will be on skills building and applying the model to the participants’ family practice.
Introduction to Emotionally Focused Family Therapy
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is an attachment-based approach that combines both systemic and experiential interventions to mend broken bonds and heal fractured families. EFFT therapists focus on the emotional experience within a family and the problem patterns that block family members from accessing the resources they would otherwise share. A primary goal of EFFT is to reduce problematic behavior by creating new patterns of emotional accessibility and responsiveness that offer a secure base for children to develop and families to thrive. EFFT provides a practical approach to engaging families at an emotional level. Accessing, processing, and connecting family members through the power of emotional experience promotes healing and fosters a family’s resilience to the everyday and unexpected challenges of life.
This workshop will demonstrate how the EFT model of working with couples is extended and modified to fit the family context. Attention will be given to how EFT practice with families is different and what additional skills are needed. For example, how to process parental blocks to emotional accessibility and responsiveness while also keeping the child safe will be a dynamic addressed. Participants will learn a powerful transformative approach that is foundational in helping parents and children who are struggling with remaining securely attached.
Workshop Format
This workshop will combine didactic instruction, experiential exercises, and case examples to demonstrate the practice of EFFT. Participants are encouraged to bring examples from their casework to explore the application of EFFT to their own work. When possible, live demonstration sessions are included.
Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy Training
Prerequisite: EFFT 2 day introductory workshop
This workshop will focus on the core competencies integral to the practice of Emotionally Focused Family Therapy. The two days will offer in-depth skills training through a combination of brief lectures, video demonstrations, live modelling, case discussions, and supervised role-playing practice. The interventions of EFT as it applies to the family context will be described and demonstrated and participants will have the opportunity to practice EFFT core skills in a small group setting. Emphasis in this workshop will be on skills building and applying the model to the participants’ family practice.