Different but same : how group therapy works in EFT couples sessions

Abstract

Emotionally focused therapy has been studied earlier as a typical couple therapy, but never before in couples group format. In the one study EFT has been studied in a group format focused on parenting issues, not on intercouple relationships. Group-based emotion-focused couple therapy is a therapy form developed by a Finnish family and couple psychotherapist Marjo Panttila and tried out for the first time in 2017. The aim of our study was to find out how participants in emotionally focused couples group therapy communicate spontaneously on each other's stories. The study focused on four couples (eight participants) during ten emotionally focused couples group therapy sessions held in Finland in early 2020´s. As the thesis question revolved around "how", a qualitative research method was chosen. As the data for this thesis formed from recorded therapy sessions filmed from one angle, nonverbal communication was not consistently visible. Hence this thesis focused almost exclusively on the transcribed verbal "what was said" material and the exact method nears conversational analysis. We found six themes under which the spontaneous comments could be categorised: Difficulty of expressing emotions, Shame, Differences in love language, Anxious-avoidant cycle of interaction, Emotional security, and Ensuring that the group is safe. Same topics emerged as in traditional EFT couple therapy. In addition, peer support played a significant role according to our study. The motivation for the participants to share their own experiences was twofold: they wished to gain self-understanding of their own relationship situation, but also were happy to help others. In the future, it would be important to repeat the group EFT therapy sessions in order to ensure the reproducibility of similar results. As a proposal for further research, it could be useful to investigate in more detail also the occurrence of possible negative interruptions in the sessions, as well as the factors that contributed to the emergence of important insights during therapy.