Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
Healing Generational Pain. Rebuilding Trust. Creating Secure Family Bonds.
Healing Family Struggles and Strengthening Bonds Through Family Counseling
Certified Emotionally Focused Family Therapist (EFFT)
Families carry more than memories—they carry patterns, pain, and unspoken expectations passed down through generations. When conflict, silence, or emotional distance becomes the norm, it’s easy to feel stuck in cycles that no one knows how to break.
At Creating Healthy Connections, we use Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) because Carol is a Certified Emotionally Focused Family Therapist qualified to help families repair strained relationships, reconnect with emotional safety, and move forward together. Whether you’re navigating parent-child tension, sibling rivalry, emotional neglect, or long-standing family estrangement, therapy can be a turning point—not just for one person, but for your whole system.
📍 Serving families in Maryland, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, and Virginia
When Love Feels Lost in the Conflict
“We love each other, but we can’t stop hurting each other.”
“No matter what I say, it feels like I’m never really heard.”
“Our family avoids emotions—until someone explodes.”
“My child is withdrawing, and I don’t know how to reach them.”
“I haven’t spoken to my parent in years, and I don’t know how to start again.”
Family disconnection can take many forms—constant arguments, chronic silence, buried resentment, or emotional cutoff. But behind every hurt is often a longing to feel seen, valued, and understood. EFFT creates a space to explore those deeper needs and reconnect from a place of emotional safety and mutual care.
“If there is a better therapist out there than Carol, I challenge anyone to find them. I don’t know how she does it. She is patient, soft spoken, genuine and impartial. Our sessions were our date night because we always left feeling lighter and more connected. We learned so much about ourselves and came out of it with the tools we needed to be a real team. I will never have the words to thank Carol properly. From the beginning, I have been recommending EFT and Carol to my loved ones who are struggling.”
Who Is EFFT For?
As a Certified Emotionally Focused Family Therapist Carol works with families of all structures, including:
- Parents and children facing emotional or behavioral struggles
- Couples whose relationship stress is affecting their kids
- Adult children and parents seeking reconciliation after years of distance
- Siblings caught in cycles of rivalry, resentment, or estrangement
No matter your starting point, Emotionally Focused Family Therapy offers a structured and compassionate path toward healing.
Three Common Pain Points We Address in Family Counseling
1. Emotional Neglect & Disconnection
Even in families that look “fine” on the outside, emotional neglect can quietly take root. Maybe it wasn’t screaming or trauma—it was absence. A parent who was too stressed to engage. A child who learned early not to ask for too much. Over time, these patterns create emotional distance, mistrust, and deep-seated loneliness that can linger well into adulthood.
In therapy, we help families recognize these wounds for what they are—not weakness, not failure, but unmet needs. By identifying the patterns that cause disconnection and learning how to show up emotionally for one another, families begin to create new, healthier ways of relating. EFFT helps shift the dynamic from silence or shutdown to responsiveness and attunement—so everyone can feel seen, heard, and valued again.
2. Anxiety, Depression & Emotional Strain
When one family member struggles with anxiety, depression, or emotional overwhelm, it often ripples through the entire system. Parents may feel helpless, siblings may become withdrawn, and emotional expression may become something everyone avoids just to “keep the peace.” But silence only grows the distance.
In EFFT, we approach these struggles not just as individual symptoms, but as part of a larger emotional system that needs care. We work with families to reduce shame around mental health, build open lines of communication, and create emotional safety at home. Instead of tiptoeing around pain, we create space to understand it—and respond with empathy, not fear.
3. Grief, Loss & Estrangement
Some families are grieving together after a major loss. Others are grieving each other—living with emotional or physical estrangement that leaves everyone hurting but unsure how to reach out. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, a painful rupture, or years of silence, grief changes the emotional shape of a family.
We help families name the grief they’re carrying—both spoken and unspoken—and begin the work of repair. This includes validating pain, acknowledging missed connections, and rebuilding emotional bridges with compassion and accountability. In estranged relationships, especially between adult children and parents or siblings, EFFT offers a path to reunite with honesty, safety, and hope.
How Emotionally Focused Family Therapy Works
Through Carol’s guidance as a Certified Emotionally Focused Family Therapist, your family will:
Break Unhelpful Communication Cycles
Identify reactive patterns like criticism, avoidance, or silence—and replace them with healthy emotional engagement.
Build Emotional Safety and Trust
Create space for vulnerability, understanding, and attuned responses—so every family member feels heard and valued.
Heal Past Wounds to Move Forward
Address unresolved pain without blame—so your family can grow instead of staying stuck in old stories.
“We always looked forward to sessions with Carol because it was the chance to discover why we were feeling and acting the way we were. Carol guided us on a journey of discovery that put us in a place that is almost indescribably wonderful.”
Emotional Focused Couples Therapy
Why Work with Carol
EFFT isn’t about surface-level solutions. It’s about deep emotional repair—so your family can experience more peace, connection, and meaning in your shared life.
Carol brings nearly 30 years of experience supporting families through complex emotional terrain. As a Certified Emotionally Focused Family Therapist, she combines clinical expertise with genuine empathy and relational clarity.
Her approach is:
- Collaborative – Every voice matters, every perspective is heard.
- Structured Yet Flexible – Grounded in research, adapted to your family’s unique needs.
- Trauma-Informed – Sensitive to past pain while focused on present repair.
- Non-Judgemental – This allows for exploration and safety.
Whether your family is navigating grief, behavioral issues, past emotional neglect, or simply feels “off,” Carol creates a space where change becomes possible—and connection can take root again.
📍 Licensed in Maryland, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, and Virginia