Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A18-5
Family Attachment Language — Review journal
Review an attempt at family attachment language and choose what to keep, change, or leave aside.
10 minutes · Journal prompts · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: A caregiver wants a teenager to know that asking for space will not end their care.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Family connection includes developmental needs and differences in power.
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
With an appropriately trained clinician, translate an adult caregiver's concern into an age-sensitive invitation without requiring a child's disclosure.
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
How can the adult communicate care while respecting the young person's choice? 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:
- How can the adult communicate care while respecting the young person's choice? 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.