Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A02-5
Signals under the Reaction — Review journal
Review an attempt at signals under the reaction and choose what to keep, change, or leave aside.
10 minutes · Journal prompts · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Alex sounds irritated but identifies uncertainty about being included.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Visible reactions may cover more vulnerable experiences.
Before looking back
Choose one ordinary attempt or decide to review the fictional example instead. This journal has no scores, required disclosure, or expectation of progress.
Revisit the practice
Separate an outward response from possible softer feelings and mark all guesses for the other person as unconfirmed.
Notice context and impact
Record what actually happened, including an unhelpful or neutral outcome. Note resources, power differences, accessibility, and changed conditions rather than attributing everything to personal effort.
Choose a revision
What feeling can you name for yourself without assigning one to your partner? Keep the approach, change one part, ask for support, or set it aside. A mismatch is useful information.
Prompts for this resource
- What I tried, or what happened in the fictional example:
- What I noticed before, during, and after; what remains uncertain:
- What helped, did not help, or was outside my control:
- What feeling can you name for yourself without assigning one to your partner? My optional adjustment or support request:
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.