Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A08-1
Availability Conversation — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind availability conversation and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Sam can offer a ten-minute check-in but cannot answer work messages immediately.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Accessibility can be described in concrete behaviors.
The idea
Accessibility can be described in concrete behaviors.
An ordinary example
Sam can offer a ten-minute check-in but cannot answer work messages immediately.
What this can look like
List what being available looks like during an ordinary busy week, including realistic limits.
Check the fit
Which signals of availability are feasible for both people? 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?
- Which signals of availability are feasible for both people?
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.