Stabilization in Emotion-Focused Therapy

Name of Strategy or Intervention

Stabilization

Synonyms

Consolidation and integration

Introduction

Stabilization in emotion-focused therapy for couples (EFT-C) occurs during the final phase of therapy and is more descriptively referred to as consolidation and integration* (Greenberg and Goldman 2008). In this phase, the EFT-C therapist fosters the emergence of new and positive interactional cycles between the couple and consolidates new relational patterns. Before the couple can reach the consolidation and integration phase, they would have become aware of the feelings underlying their negative relational cycle. Additionally, each person would have expressed his or her vulnerable emotions to each other along with associated needs and partners would have in turn received and validated each other’s core feelings and needs. Essentially, each partner would have experienced the regulation of negative affect through their new positive relational pattern, by self-soothing, or both. By the...