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Predicting Follow‐up Outcomes in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: The Role of Change in Trust, Relationship‐Specific Attachment, and Emotional Engagement
Author(s) -
Wiebe Stephanie A.,
Johnson Susan M.,
Burgess Moser Melissa,
Dalgleish Tracy L.,
Tasca Giorgio A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/jmft.12199
Subject(s) - psychology , facilitation , attachment theory , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , neuroscience
Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy ( EFT ), an evidence‐based couple therapy (Johnson, Hunsley, Greenberg, & Schindler, 1999), strives to foster lasting change through the creation of secure attachment bonds in distressed couples. Although studies have demonstrated lasting change in follow‐up (Wiebe et al., in press), research is needed to investigate predictors of long‐term outcomes. Our goal was to investigate predictors of long‐term outcomes in relationship satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction was assessed across 24 months in a sample of 32 couples who received an average of 21 EFT sessions. Decreases in attachment avoidance were most predictive of higher relationship satisfaction across follow‐up. These findings support the theoretical assumption that EFT helps couples foster lasting change in relationship satisfaction through the facilitation of secure attachment bonds.