Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A11-5
Cycle and External Stress — Review journal
Review an attempt at cycle and external stress and choose what to keep, change, or leave aside.
10 minutes · Journal prompts · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: A changing shift schedule leaves Alex and Sam with less predictable time together.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. External pressures can intensify the relational loop.
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
Add work, racism, disability access, money, or caregiving pressures to the cycle map without using them to excuse harm.
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
Which pressure needs practical support alongside relational work? 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:
- Which pressure needs practical support alongside relational work? 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.