Emotionally focused therapy / EFT-A20-3
Readiness and Safety First — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about readiness and safety first while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: A fictional person worries that an honest answer could lead to punishment at home.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. Joint vulnerability work depends on safety and voluntary participation.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore readiness and safety first using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: Joint vulnerability work depends on safety and voluntary participation. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Privately discuss with a clinician whether fear, coercion, violence, or retaliation makes joint exercises unsuitable; do not share this worksheet with an unsafe partner. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: A fictional person worries that an honest answer could lead to punishment at home.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What assessment or individual support is needed before any joint work? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What assessment or individual support is needed before any joint work?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
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.