We Heart Therapy

The Emotional Cycle vs. the Sexual Cycle in EFT: What’s the Difference? Featuring EFT Trainer George Faller, LMFT & Dr. Laurie Watson, PhD   Are a couple’s emotional cycle and sexual cycle the same thing? Where do they overlap—and where are they fundamentally different?   In this special edition of We Heart Therapy, host Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT, ICEEFT Certified EFT Supervisor & Therapist, sits down with George Faller, LMFT, ICEEFT Certified EFT Trainer, and Dr. Laurie Watson, PhD, AASECT Certified Supervisor and ICEEFT Certified EFT Therapist, for a fascinating conversation about the similarities and differences between the emotional and sexual cycles in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).   For EFT therapists, we’re accustomed to tracking the negative interaction cycle and helping partners recognize the attachment fears, longings, emotions, and protective strategies that keep them stuck. But does the couple’s sexual cycle follow the same pattern?   ❤️ THE EMOTIONAL CYCLE & THE SEXUAL CYCLE   🔥 George, Laurie, and Dr. Belle explore how a couple can become caught in repeating patterns both **emotionally and sexually**—and why those patterns may overlap without necessarily being identical.   How does pursuit and withdrawal look when we move from an emotional interaction into a sexual one? Can a partner pursue emotionally but withdraw sexually—or vice versa? What happens when the emotional cycle and sexual cycle appear to tell us different things about the relationship?   And importantly, what does an EFT therapist need to listen for in order to recognize the difference?   In this conversation, we explore: ❤️ How the emotional cycle and sexual cycle are similar 🔥 The important ways the sexual cycle can differ from the emotional cycle ❤️ Where emotional and sexual cycles intersect and influence one another 🔥 Why therapists shouldn’t automatically assume that a couple’s sexual pattern perfectly mirrors their emotional cycle ❤️ How recognizing both cycles can give EFT therapists a richer understanding of the couple’s experience   For EFT therapists and couples therapists, understanding these distinctions can open up an entirely different layer of the couple’s attachment experience.   🎙️ MEET GEORGE FALLER & DR. LAURIE WATSON George Faller, LMFT is an ICEEFT Certified EFT Trainer, Supervisor, and Therapist based in New York. He trains therapists internationally in Emotionally Focused Therapy and is known for making the EFT model accessible, experiential, and deeply human. 👉 Learn more about George: https://georgefaller.com/ https://successinvulnerability.com/   Dr. Laurie Watson, PhD is an AASECT Certified Supervisor and ICEEFT Certified EFT Therapist whose work focuses on the intersection of sexuality, relationships, attachment, intimacy, and couples therapy. 👉 Learn more about Laurie: https://awakeningscenter.org/therapis...   ❤️🔥 BRAVE LOVE, GREAT SEX George and Laurie co-host the Brave Love Great Sex podcast and are launching their new book of the same name, Brave Love, Great Sex. Discover the podcast, book, and more from George & Laurie: 👉 https://bravelovegreatsex.com/   📚 GET THEIR NEW BOOK — BRAVE LOVE, GREAT SEX: 👉 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...   💛 ABOUT WE HEART THERAPY Hosted by Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT, ICEEFT Certified EFT Supervisor & Therapist, We Heart Therapy brings therapists conversations with leading EFT Trainers, Supervisors, researchers, and clinicians about Emotionally Focused Therapy, EFCT, EFIT, EFFT, attachment, relationships, trauma, sexuality, and becoming a more effective EFT therapist.   🌎 LEARN EMOTIONALLY FOCUSED THERAPY Interested in EFT training or becoming an ICEEFT Certified EFT Therapist or Supervisor? Visit the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT): 👉 https://iceeft.com/   ❤️ CONNECT WITH DR. BELLE & WE HEART THERAPY Dr. Belle: 👉 https://www.DrBelle.com https://www.LasVegasMarriageCounselin...   We Heart Therapy: 👉 https://www.wehearttherapy.com/   Southern Nevada EFT: 👉 https://www.snveft.com   🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO WE HEART THERAPY If you’re an EFT therapist, couples therapist, marriage and family therapist, sex therapist, psychologist, counselor, social worker, or mental health professional, subscribe for more conversations designed to deepen your understanding and practice of Emotionally Focused Therapy.   💬 QUESTION FOR EFT THERAPISTS: Have you noticed a couple’s sexual cycle looking different from their emotional cycle? Tell us what you’ve noticed in the comments!   #EmotionallyFocusedTherapy #EFT #SexTherapy #CouplesTherapy #EFTTherapist #SexualCycle #AttachmentTheory #GeorgeFaller #LaurieWatson #BraveLoveGreatSex #ICEEFT #MarriageTherapy #SexualIntimacy #WeHeartTherapy

Welcome to We Heart Therapy, your destination for training, clinical conversations, and inspiration for Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) therapists around the world. In this episode, Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT, ICEEFT Certified EFT/EFIT/EFFT Supervisor & Therapist and EFT Community Leader for Southern NV EFT, sits down with Kathryn DeBruin, ICEEFT Certified EFT Trainer, originally with the San Diego Center for EFT, now practicing and training in Utah, and a pioneer in helping develop the South African EFT community. Together, they explore one of the most important topics for developing EFT therapists: How do we effectively work with more complex cases in Emotionally Focused Therapy?  As therapists grow in their EFT journey, they inevitably encounter clients whose presentations require greater flexibility, deeper attunement, and a more nuanced understanding of attachment science. In this rich clinical discussion, Kathryn shares decades of experience helping therapists navigate these challenging moments while staying grounded in the EFT model. In this episode, you'll learn: ✨ What makes a case "complex" in EFT ✨ How to stay anchored in the attachment model when sessions become difficult ✨ Working with trauma, high conflict, and complicated relationship dynamics ✨ Common challenges therapists encounter—and how to navigate them effectively ✨ Clinical wisdom for maintaining emotional presence under pressure ✨ How complexity can become an opportunity for deeper healing and secure attachment Whether you're new to EFT or an experienced Certified EFT Therapist/Supervisor, this conversation offers practical guidance, thoughtful reflection, and clinical pearls that can immediately enhance your work with couples and individuals. If you're committed to growing as an attachment-based therapist, this is an episode you won't want to miss. --- 🔗 Learn Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) *Become trained or certified through the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT):* https://iceeft.com 🔗 Learn More About Kathryn DeBruin Kathryn DeBruin's Website: https://kathryndebruin.com/ Kathryn DeBruin's Podcast: The Family Express https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🔗 Connect with Dr. Belle & We Heart Therapy *Dr. Belle / Practice Website* https://www.DrBelle.com https://www.LasVegasMarriageCounselin... ❤️ *Southern NV EFT* https://www.snveft.com ❤️ *Dr. Belle / We Heart Therapy* https://www.WeHeartTherapy.com --- 👍 *If you enjoyed this conversation:* Like this video Subscribe to *We Heart Therapy* Share it with fellow EFT therapists and supervisors Leave a comment with your biggest takeaway or questions about working with complex cases in EFT Our mission is to bring you conversations with leading EFT Trainers and clinicians from around the world to help you become a more confident, effective, and emotionally engaged therapist. Thank you for being part of the We Heart Therapy community! #EmotionallyFocusedTherapy #EFT #ICEEFT #EFTTherapist #CouplesTherapy #AttachmentTheory #ComplexTrauma #TherapistTraining #ClinicalSupervision #KathrynDeBruin #WeHeartTherapy #DrBelle #EFIT #EFFT #MentalHealthProfessionals

In this powerful EFT training discussion, We Heart Therapy host (Anabelle Bugatti) Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT/EFT Supervisor/Therapist sits down with Emotionally Focused Therapy trainer Dr. Ting Liu and explores how therapists can effectively work with ambivalence in couples therapy and attachment-based healing. Ambivalence is one of the most common challenges therapists encounter in EFT sessions, especially when partners feel stuck between connection and protection, longing and fear, or closeness and withdrawal, staying or leaving. In this conversation, Dr. Ting Liu shares clinical insight into: • Working with emotional ambivalence in EFT • Helping couples navigate uncertainty and emotional disconnection • EFT interventions for pursuer-withdrawer dynamics • Clinical applications of Emotionally Focused Therapy with Ambivalence Whether you are an EFT therapist, LMFT, psychologist, counseling student, or simply interested in attachment science and relationship healing, this video offers valuable insights into the EFT process and how to work with complex relational dynamics.   🔗 Learn more about EFT Emotionally Focused Therapy by Dr. Sue Johnson and Official EFT Training: https://www.iceeft.com   🔗 Learn more about Dr. Ting Liu: Website: https://centralpaeft.com/training https://asia-eft.com/   🔗 Learn more about Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT: https://www.drbelle.com https://www.WeHeartTherapy.com https://www.LasVegasMarriageCounselin... 🔗 Southern Nevada Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy (SNVEFT): https://www.snveft.com   If you enjoyed this video, please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and SHARE to support more conversations on Emotionally Focused Therapy, attachment science, couples therapy, and relationship healing.   #EmotionallyFocusedTherapy #EFT #CouplesTherapy #AttachmentTheory #DrTingLiu #SusanJohnson #RelationshipTherapy #MarriageTherapy #EmotionallyFocusedCouplesTherapy #TherapistTraining #EFTTrainer #AttachmentInjury #WeHeartTherapy #SNVEFT #TherapyTraining #LMFT #Psychotherapy #EmotionallyFocusedIndividualTherapy #EFTAsia

EFT Talk: Your Guide to Emotionally Focused Therapy 🎙️💙 Featuring Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT, Cert. EFT Supervisor & Therapist   Most therapists are gathering attachment history… but not using it effectively. In this episode, Host EFT Supervisor & Therapist Dr. Belle & EFT Trainer Dr. Ryan Rana break down how to turn attachment history into real clinical insight.   In this conversation, I sit down with EFT Trainer Dr. Ryan Rana to explore how to use a client’s attachment history during assessment to begin identifying the negative cycle and the client’s attachment dilemma.   Many therapists are already gathering attachment history but often aren’t sure how to translate that information into something clinically useful.   In this video, we break down how attachment history becomes a roadmap for understanding emotional patterns, how clients organize their responses in relationships, their attachment fears and longings and how these show up in the cycle.   If you’re learning EFT or want to deepen your case conceptualization, this will help you move from 👉 information gathering → meaningful understanding 🔥 Join the Full Training (May 22nd – Online), We’re offering a 1-day training where we go deeper into using attachment history in assessment identifying the cycle understanding attachment dilemmas in real time.  💻 Open to therapists and grad students Sign up Here: 👉 https://www.snveft.com/attachmenthist...   🌐 Resources Learn EFT! International Centre for Excellence in EFT (ICEEFT) 👉 https://iceeft.com   For more information on EFT Trainer Dr. Ryan Rana 👉 https://ryanranatraining.com/   Success in Vulnerability online EFT learning platform: 👉 https://www.successinvulnerability.com   Listen to the Leading Edge in Emotionally Focused Therapy Podcast with EFT Trainers Dr. Ryan Rana and Dr. James Hawkins 👉 https://theleadingedgeineft.podbean.com/   Work with Dr. Belle 👉 https://www.drbelle.com   We Heart Therapy Retreats and CE Events for Therapists 👉 https://www.wehearttherapy.com/therap...   Southern Nevada EFT Community 👉 https://www.snveft.com   📲 Stay Connected:   Follow for more EFT training content, clinical insights, and resources for therapists subscribe to We Heart Therapy

Welcome back to We Heart Therapy — your go-to channel for deep, experiential learning in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).   In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Dr. Belle, PhD, LMFT — ICEEFT Certified EFT/EFIT/EFFT Supervisor & Therapist and EFT Community Leader for Southern NV EFT — sits down with Ali Barbosa, ICEEFT Certified EFT Trainer from the Mexico Center for EFT, to explore an essential question for every therapist: 👉 How do we apply EFT and EFIT to ourselves?   As therapists, we’re trained to guide others through emotional pain and attachment injuries — but what about our own? In this conversation, you’ll learn: ✨ How to walk in the EFT model in your own life ✨ Applying EFIT (Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy) strategies to your personal emotional experiences ✨ How to work with your own attachment system, triggers, and emotional pain ✨ Tools for self-reflection, emotional processing, and self-compassion ✨ How your personal work deepens your clinical effectiveness ✨ Why embodying EFT transforms not just your work — but your relationships   This episode is especially meaningful for EFT therapists who want to move beyond technique and into embodied practice — integrating the model into both their professional and personal lives.   Whether you're in Core Skills, working toward certification, or already certified, this conversation offers practical guidance and heartfelt insight into becoming the therapist who truly lives EFT.   🔗 Learn Emotionally Focused Therapy & Certification (ICEEFT): https://iceeft.com 🔗 Ali Barbosa – Mexico Center for EFT: https://eftmexico.com/ 🔗 Southern NV EFT (Dr. Belle): https://www.snveft.com 🔗 Dr. Belle’s Professional Website: https://www.DrBelle.com   👍 If this video resonates, please like, subscribe, and share with fellow therapists.     #EmotionallyFocusedTherapy #EFTTherapists #EFIT #ICEEFT #TherapistGrowth #AttachmentTheory #WeHeartTherapy #SelfOfTheTherapist