Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A20-1
Readiness and Safety First — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind readiness and safety first and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: A fictional person worries that an honest answer could lead to punishment at home.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Joint vulnerability work depends on safety and voluntary participation.
The idea
Joint vulnerability work depends on safety and voluntary participation.
An ordinary example
A fictional person worries that an honest answer could lead to punishment at home.
What this can look like
Privately discuss with a clinician whether fear, coercion, violence, or retaliation makes joint exercises unsuitable; do not share this worksheet with an unsafe partner.
Check the fit
What assessment or individual support is needed before any joint work? 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 assessment or individual support is needed before any joint work?
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.