The Leading Edge in Emotionally Focused Therapy 113. The Resistant Client Series: Bring it Forward to Work with The Live Emotion Under Resistance.
Welcome to the Leading Edge in Emotionally Focused Therapy, hosted by Drs. James Hawkins, Ph.D., LPC, and Ryan Rana, Ph.D., LMFT, LPC—Renowned ICEEFT Therapists, Supervisors, and Trainers. We're thrilled to have you with us. We believe this podcast, a valuable resource, will empower you to push the boundaries in your work, helping individuals and couples connect more deeply with themselves and each other.
Key Highlights:
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Counterintuitive approach: When clients become reactive, therapists should move towards the emotion, not away from it
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Reactivity is a signal of underlying fear and pain that needs acknowledgment
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The goal is to help clients organize and understand their emotional experience
Main Points:
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Understanding Reactivity
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Reactivity indicates a need for emotional organization
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Therapists must first ground themselves to stay present
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Look for cues like voice changes, slower pace, and "yes" signaling
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Therapeutic Approach
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Move towards the reactivity with curiosity and empathy
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Co-create meaning with the client
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Help clients understand the attachment function of their emotional response
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Trust and Corrective Experience
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Develop trust that vulnerable emotions exist beneath resistance
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Be willing to take vulnerable steps before seeing the full result
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Learn through practice and experiencing successful interventions
Practical Strategies:
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Validate the function of protective behaviors
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Slow down the process
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Become an "attachment interpreter"
Closing Insight: EFT aims to help clients find flexibility in their reactive moments and connect with each other, not eliminate reactivity.
Upcoming events, if you would like to train with James or Ryan…
- You can do a joint Core Skills (Colorado) with Lisa J. Palmer-Olsen & Dr. James Hawkins. Core Skills Modules 1 and 2 will be held October 8-10, 2025, and Core Skills Modules 3 and 4 will be held January 7-9, 2026. You can register at https://courses.efft.org/courses/2025-core-skills-colorado.
- October 15-18, 2025, you can do an Externship with James in beautiful Bend, Oregon. You can register at https://www.counseloregon.com.
- You can train with Ryan, as well as George Faller, doing a live and some time with James, at the annual Arkansas EFT Center externship. July 29-August 1, 2025, in person, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. https://www.arkansaseft.com/events/externship
- We would like to invite everyone to come hang out and learn with the SV team at the first-ever SV Focus Lab. This is an advanced, EFCT training intending to push the edge with a focus on nuance in application, illuminating EFT and Sue’s incredible model.”
- You can learn more and register by going to https://www.svfocuslab.com. Leading edge listeners who register before July 1 with the code svfocuslab.com/leadingedge get a 10% discount.
To support our mission and help us continue producing impactful content, your financial contributions via Venmo (@leftpodcast) are greatly appreciated. They play a significant role in keeping this valuable resource available and are a testament to your commitment to our cause.
We aim to equip therapists with practical tools and encouragement for addressing relational distress. We're also excited to be part of the team behind Success in Vulnerability (SV)—your premier online education platform. SV offers innovative instruction to enhance your therapeutic effectiveness through exclusive modules and in-depth clinical examples.
Stay connected with us:
- Facebook: Follow our page @pushtheleadingedge
- Ryan: Follow @ryanranaprofessionaltraining on Facebook and visit his website
- James: Follow @dochawklpc on Facebook and Instagram, or visit his website at dochawklpc.com
- George Faller: Visit georgefaller.com
If you like the concepts discussed on this podcast you can explore our online training program, Success in Vulnerability (SV).
Thank you for being part of our community. Let's push the leading edge together!