Emotionally Focused Therapy improves relationships in couples and families. Now, a pioneer study shows the benefits of using Emotionally Focused Therapy for anxiety with individuals, too.

EFT for Anxiety and Depression: How It Helps Individuals

The practice of EFT now has another study that therapists can rely on to help their clients get the most out of sessions. This 2025 study points to how we can use Emotionally Focused Therapy for anxiety and depression when working with individuals. This is important, given that feeling anxious is one of the top reasons people decide to look for therapy.

For each of us, anxiety can show up in different ways. In EFT sessions, rather than trying to make a definition fit you, the most important thing is to understand: What does anxiety look like for you? And how does it impact you in your specific circumstances? You might find yourself disconnecting from yourself or people who matter to you. You might find it hard to talk to strangers or feel confident when you need to do something important. Maybe your thoughts or emotions feel sticky when you would like them to flow. Or perhaps you are able to push discomfort to the side and go about your day but in your heart you don’t feel calm.

All of these examples happen to all of us at times, but for some people one or more end up regularly being in the way of our feeling like we are living the way we would most like to. And so, in the previously mentioned study, EFT was applied to individuals (each received 15 sessions) precisely with the intention to see whether it can provide significant reduction in psychological distress, as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms. And the results were positive.

How Emotionally Focused Therapy Works

What is it that EFT actually does to help individuals move from distress to more flexibility and aliveness? It encourages the expression of primary emotions and needs that clients haven’t been able to be in touch with or have a good experience with because of fears or life’s circumstances.

Imagine that at my core I feel sad or afraid but it wouldn’t make sense to go there because it wouldn’t be a good experience for me – it would be too unpredictable or unacceptable or isolating. So now, not only do I feel sad or afraid, but then come the following waves: maybe a wave of shame or anger because I shouldn’t feel this way. Or pushing these feelings to the side because my life doesn’t have space for them. Or I jump into action, like work or studies, to at least “do something useful”.

Either way, I can’t really feel or share the heart of the matter. This requires a lot of energy and makes my world smaller, in terms of how I see myself (like, I can never get it right) and the world (like, to try is to get punished).

Of course, if feeling my emotions has led to undesirable experiences, my organism is going to protect me from doing that. That is why good EFT sessions have to create the conditions for clients to have a different experience than their usual pattern. An actual, different, felt experience in the moment. A better alternative, that becomes repeatable and reliable outside of the sessions too. Examples follow:

  • I uncover something new about myself and this gives me agency in my life.
  • I share something scary and the other person doesn’t turn away, making me feel like this part of me is OK.
  • It clicks why I behaved a certain way and that gives me self-compassion.
  • I share my experience with another human and it makes a positive impact on the relationship, proving that expressing myself can lead to something good.
  • I tell someone that I am afraid of something and the other person says “Me too” and both of us feel bonded over this.
  • I share my sadness and someone comes to me, making the world more trustworthy.

With enough repetitions of a different experience, it becomes less scary and anxiety-provoking to be me in this world. In turn, it becomes more flexible, manageable and enjoyable.

The Outcomes

A figure poised on top of a giant lion — finding balance through emotionally focused therapy for anxiety.

The study results confirmed the positive changes EFT therapists often experience with clients in their sessions. After a course of EFT most participants demonstrated significantly less psychological distress, as well as significantly lower levels of depression and anxiety.

Emotionally Focused Therapy for anxiety works by helping the client organize their emotional experiences in the session as well as in the important relationships in their life. It becomes safer to know themselves and others. For many, this means more agency in their life, more flexibility in their reactions and an earned confidence that the waves of life are something they can sail on successfully.

Text by Veronika Zahradnickova (27/06/2026)
Resources: A randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused individual therapy (EFIT) for depression and anxiety

I offer individual EFT sessions in Melbourne and online where we can tailor Emotionally Focused Therapy for anxiety the way it shows up for you and your circumstances. Feel free to get in touch with any questions you might have.