Emotionally focused therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: An integrated treatment to heal the trauma of infidelity

Despite the prevalence of infidelity and the serious harm it causes relationships, scarce clinical literature exists about how to use trauma-informed approaches to help couples in conjoint therapy. Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) have been empirically proven in their own right to be effective in the treatment of trauma and couples, respectively, and were utilized conjointly in this article as a means to heal trauma related to infidelity in couple therapy. The combined EFT-EMDR approach consists of using EMDR as an intervention within specific stages of EFT. A case example is presented to illustrate use of the integrated approach. Suggestions from this article may help couple therapists understand the role that trauma plays in maintaining the attachment injury of infidelity and to adequately attend to the traumatic impact of infidelity on both partners.

Journal

English

Sesen Negash
Stephen H. Carlson
Jason N. Linder

Negash, S., Carlson, S. H., & Linder, J. N. (2018). Emotionally focused therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: An integrated treatment to heal the trauma of infidelity. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. doi:10.1037/cfp0000107