When: Wednesday, November 10 - Saturday, November 13, 2027; 9:00 - 5:00 daily
Where: Bentley University Conference Center, Waltham, MA
Instructor: James Hawkins, PhD
Level: Beginner
Target Audience: Marriage & Family Therapists, Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Psychologists
Cost: $1095 Early Bird until 8/1/27 for licensed therapists and therapists who are working towards licensure; $1250 after 8/1/27; $795 Students (limited number of spots so register early); $795 Equity (limited number of spots so register early). Please contact us for more information. Five month payment plan available at checkout. Must register by 7/1/27 to use payment plan.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations requested more than 30 days before the training will be issued a refund for the registration fee less an administrative fee of $100. Cancellations requested 10-29 days before the training will be issued a refund minus a $150 administrative fee. Refunds cannot be issued less than 10 days before the training; however, the registration fee can be transferred to an upcoming EFT MA training.
CEs: 26 CEs for LMFTs, LICSWs, LMHCs and Lic. Psychologists for a fee of $40.
From National Marriage Seminars:
Participants must have paid registration fees, signed in, attended the entire seminar, and signed out in order to receive a certificate. Failure to sign in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available.
National Marriage Seminars of America is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. National Marriage Seminars of America maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Counselors/Marriage and Family Therapists/Mental Health Counselors Nearly all Professional Counselors, MFT & Mental Health Counselor boards accept APA. Check with your board to be sure.
Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations occasionally. We attempt to stay on top of the most recent changes. If you have questions about a course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly for a definitive answer.
Program Description
Emotionally Focused Therapy gets to the heart of what creates disconnection in couples. Underneath the story lies unmet attachment needs and longings that either do not get expressed or get expressed through a layer of protection creating even more distress. We call this the negative cycle. This training helps therapists learn to work with distressed couples in a way that leads to safety, security, closeness and connection. Over four days, learning combines observation of live and video recorded couple sessions, presentations of theory and clinical techniques, skills training exercises, and discussion of specific cases, clinical material and issues. It is the first step on the road to EFT certification.
General Objectives:
Participants will obtain a clear understanding of the basic experiential and systemic concepts of an “Emotionally Focused” approach to therapy.
Participants will be able to view clients in the web of their interpersonal attachments and conceptualize relationship distress and repair based on theories of attachment and emotion.
EFT is a relational therapy. The Externship will focus on the general model of EFT as laid out in the 2019 book, Attachment Theory in Practice, and teach the model as implemented in couples sessions.
Participants will develop skills in sharing and maintaining an engaged, open and collaborative alliance with clients.
Participants will develop skills in the 5 moves of the basic macro-intervention – the EFT Tango – in order to change patterns of affect regulation, models of self and other, strategies for engaging others and interactional patterns.
Participants will develop skills in EFT micro interventions taken from experiential and systemic models of intervention.
Participants will develop skills in overcoming common blocks and impasses in all three therapy modalities and so shaping core corrective emotional experiences that lead to constructive dependency and what Rogers termed ‘existential living.’
EFT for individuals and families will also be touched upon.
Who should attend?
All mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, family physicians, social workers, psychiatric nurses, counsellors, pastors and clergy, and students training in these professions. Registrants will be required to declare their professional designation.
ICEEFT recommends that participants read Attachment Theory in Practice: Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals, Couples and Families (Johnson, 2019), prior to attending and Externship.
Dr. James Hawkins, ‘Doc Hawk’, is a Licensed Counsellor and an ICEEFT certified trainer, supervisor, and therapist. He obtained a Master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Counseling. He currently serves as a Clinical Coordinator at a non-profit counseling practice in Northwest Arkansas. James is the founder of Healing Conversations, a training program developed to equip organizations and communities to have productive conversations about race. He is the co-host of two podcasts, The Leading Edge in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and The Leading Edge: Transforming Leadership Through Attachment Science. James is a part of the online training program, Success in Vulnerability developed to help EFT therapists and supervisors gain more focus in their clinical work. Doc Hawk brings a passion for helping individuals, couples, families, and communities in relational distress. James is married to his wife, Nicola, and together they have five daughters.
Early Bird Pricing for Licensed Therapists: and therapists working towards licensure $1095 until 8/1/27
Full Price after 8/1/27 for Licensed Therapists: and therapists working towards licensure $1,250
Student Pricing for currently enrolled full-time students: $795 (limited number of spots)
Equity Pricing for therapists who come from traditionally marginalized communities or who serve those communities: $795 (limited number of spots)
Five month payment plan available at checkout. Must register by 7/1/27 to use payment plan.