This 4-day EFCT Externship Training is the foundational training in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. Led by Lorrie Brubacher, ICEEFT Certified Trainer, supervisor, therapist and author of Stepping into Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, the Externship immerses participants in the theory, maps, and practical skills of EFCT.
Lorrie has been practicing as an individual, couple, and family therapist since 1989. She trains internationally and brings decades of clinical experience, deep expertise in the EFT model, and a clear, practical teaching style that helps therapists move from understanding the model to applying it effectively in the therapy room.
An Externship includes presentations of theory, clinical techniques and skills, training exercises, video recordings, observation of sessions, and discussion of specific cases and clinical issues, integrating didactic teaching, video demonstrations of real sessions, structured skills practice, and clinical discussion, with an extensive manual provided.
Participants learn how to:
- Conceptualize relationship distress through the lens of attachment science
- Track and interrupt the negative interaction cycles that keep couples stuck
- Access, deepen, and reprocess primary emotions
- Use the EFT Tango and core interventions to create new emotional experiences
- Shape key bonding interactions that foster secure connection
- Work through therapeutic impasses and help partners consolidate a more resilient, connected relationship
This Externship is the required first step on the ICEEFT pathway toward certification as an Emotionally Focused Couple Therapist. It is designed for mental health professionals who work with couples or are preparing to do so.
Prerequisite: You must have the training and educational qualifications to legally practice as a professional mental health practitioner, or be in formal training to become one.