In this first session of Assessment and Alliance building, I am:
Attending to his ways of regulating emotion by tracking his within / between cycle
and monitoring his depth of experiencing. That is, I seek to monitor his closeness to and his distance from his emotional experiencing. As an EFT therapist, I continually seek to deepen his engagement with his present moment experience as he tells his story to me. I am:
• Listening for emotional handles – images or phrases that I can repeat to expand his experience.
• Attuning to hints at longings and goals for change.
• Attuning to his strengths
• Identifying what Barlow (Unified Protocol) suggests are core themes in most
emotional disorders.
• Collaborating with him to identify goals for therapy
For alliance building, I am:
• Reflecting experience in the present moment.
• Attending to how he engages with me and with his own experience.
• Keeping the attachment, relational frame explicit throughout.
In 20 minutes from session 2 we continue with early alliance and assessment. Using mostly EFT Tango Move 1, I reflect his life experiences that continue to hurt. I reflect and explore the time he spent in jail for the death of friend