April 10 and 11, 2026
In-Person Location: Delray Beach, FL
This dynamic 2-day immersive training is designed for therapists who want to strengthen their Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFcT) skills while learning to navigate the complex and often disruptive presence of addiction in couple dynamics.
Using a highly experiential format—including lecture, role play, video demonstrations, and structured exercises—participants will gain practical strategies for integrating EFCT interventions in cases where addiction (substance use or process addictions such as pornography, gambling, or compulsive eating) complicates the therapeutic process.
EFCT, developed by Dr. Sue Johnson, is a research-backed, attachment-based model for helping couples heal relational distress by fostering secure emotional bonds. But when addiction becomes a “third entity” in the relationship, it can erode trust, hijack emotional safety, and stall therapeutic progress—leaving couples stuck in pain and clinicians searching for direction.
This training will offer a roadmap for adapting the EFCT model to work more effectively with couples impacted by addiction. Participants will learn how to hold addiction in an attachment frame, identify its impact on the couple’s negative cycle, and respond with interventions that foster both emotional engagement and recovery-oriented stability.
Whether you’re an experienced EFT therapist or newer to the model, you’ll leave with tools you can immediately apply in clinical practice—along with a deeper comprehension of how to support couples where addiction, trauma, shame, and disconnection intersect.
Presenter Bio:
Michael Barnett, MA, ED.S., LPCC
ICEEFT certified trainer, addiction specialist, podcast host, and author Michael Barnett is a leading voice in the EFT community. Known for his warmth, clarity, and decades of experience integrating Emotionally Focused Therapy with addiction treatment, he brings over 30 years of clinical wisdom to his teaching.
Michael is the co-founder and director of the EFT Center of Los Angeles and maintains a private practice in Pasadena. Previously, he founded and directed the Atlanta Center for EFT, where he trained hundreds of clinicians over a span of 17 years.
Michael’s roots are in addiction work and prior to discovering EFT, he spent nearly a decade working in inpatient and outpatient addiction programs and training clinicians nationwide. Since becoming certified as an EFT trainer in 2008, he has led more than 100 trainings across North America and internationally—focusing on the integration of attachment science, trauma-informed care, and experiential psychotherapy, for both mental health providers and corporate leaders.
In 2010, Michael led a groundbreaking research initiative embedding EFT into a residential addiction treatment center—paving the way for a more compassionate, attachment-based approach to addictive behaviors. His work shifts the clinical lens from pathology and control to one of connection, meaning, and emotional healing.
Michael was honored to be elected as co-presenter with Dr. Gabor Maté at the 2022 International EFT Summit, offering powerful insight into addiction’s emotional roots and the path to deeper recovery.
Now, following the release of his groundbreaking The Emotionally Focused Therapy Workbook for Addiction: How to Heal the Loneliness and Shame that Trigger Addictive Behaviors (New Harbinger, 2024), Michael is devoted to guiding individuals in recovery toward deeper emotional healing, connection, and wholeness.
Timeline:
DAY 1
8:45a – 9:30a Check-In
9:30a – 10:10am Intro
General impact of addiction on marriage
Impact of addiction on couples therapy treatment
Clinical complexities in treatment due to addiction
Cultural influence on addiction
10:10a-11:00a Self of the therapist
Small group Experiential Process
11:00a-11:15a [Break]
11:15a-11:30a Current context of Addiction treatment
Consistent lack of efficacy in the field
Limitations of current treatments
11:35a-12:10p Trauma & Addiction
Adverse Childhood Events (“ACE’s”)
Gabor Mate
12:10p-12:30p EFcT’s potential as an effective resource for treating addiction
12:30p-1:30p [Lunch]
1:30p-2:15p Neurobiology of addiction
Addiction as an attachment (protective) strategy
Emotional-process action-tendency
Panksepp’s theory
2:15p-3:00p Systems theory and addiction
3:00p-3:15p [Break]
3:15p-4:00p Addiction’s Impact on partner and stage 1 work
Avoidant attachment strategy… altered
4:00p-4:45p Emotional profile of the addicted person
4:45p-5:15p Differential Diagnosis
5:15p-5:30p Q&A and Wrap up
DAY 2
9:15a – 9:30a Check-In
9:30a-10:00a EFcT Assessment
10:00a-10:15a Contraindications to using EFT
10:15a-11:00a Overview of clinical work with the system
11:00a-11:15a [Break[
11:15a-12:30p Experiential practice
12:30p-1:30p [Lunch]
1:30p-1:45p Group Discussion
1:45p-2:30p Working with Emotion in Addictive Process
2:30p-3:00p Working with Shame in addiction
3:00p-3:15p [Break]
3:15p-3:45p EFcT Stage 2 work
3:45p-4:30p Working with Attachment Injuries
4:30p-5:00p Integration with adjunctive addiction programs (i.e., 12-step, etc.)
5:00p-5:30p Q&A and Wrap up
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
This course is Interactive .
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