Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A01-1
Naming the Interaction Cycle — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind naming the interaction cycle and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Alex asks repeatedly about plans while Sam gets quieter, increasing Alex's urgency.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. The recurring cycle can be described without making either person the enemy.
The idea
The recurring cycle can be described without making either person the enemy.
An ordinary example
Alex asks repeatedly about plans while Sam gets quieter, increasing Alex's urgency.
What this can look like
Map an ordinary trigger, each person's protective response, and how the responses feed each other.
Check the fit
What happens between you that each person alone cannot explain? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
An interaction cycle is a relational map, not a way to split responsibility equally for abuse or excuse harmful behavior.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- What happens between you that each person alone cannot explain?
Conceptual background
What is EFT? — International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.