About
Dr. Sue Johnson’s Work
Dr. Sue Johnson researched how relationships can be repaired, how the bonds of love work, and how people change in psychotherapy.
Most of her research focused on the efficacy of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT), a therapy she developed more than 30 years ago. EFCT is acknowledged as the gold standard in tested, proven interventions for couples. It centers on emotion, the music that dictates how we move with or away from our own vulnerabilities and needs. Dr. Johnson and her team demonstrated its effectiveness through extensive research and peer reviewed publications. Sue also expanded the EFT model to show its effectiveness for individual therapy (EFIT) and for families (EFFT).
Dr. Johnson received many awards for her research and contributions to the psychotherapy field and was named “Psychologist of the Year” in 2016 by Division 43 of the American Psychological Association. She was recognized by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Couple and Family Therapy. Sue also received the Order of Canada for her overall body of work and positive impact on psychotherapy – all over the world.
As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Sue Johnson worked with couples & individuals dealing with anxiety, depression and trauma, and with families, helping them to strengthen their bonds and find their way home.
The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) links over 100 centres and communities around the globe, supporting therapists learning, practicing and researching EFT.
Dr. Sue Johnson wrote several books for the public and took pride in her best-sellers. In her 2008 book, Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, she created a self-help program based on her groundbreaking research for everyday people who want to enhance, repair, and maintain their most precious relationships. In her 2014 book, Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships, she proposed a very simple idea: once we understand that romantic love is based on an attachment bond, we can develop our “love sense” and our ability to form long-lasting relationships.
Dr. Johnson also developed Hold Me Tight® program into a relationship education and enhancement program called Hold Me Tight® Online, allowing the wisdom of EFT to reach couples wherever they are.
Dr. Johnson also continued to write popular books for therapists, including the 2019 publication Attachment Theory in Practice: EFT with Individuals, Couples and Families and in 2021, A Primer for Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) – Cultivating Fitness and Growth in Every Client. And in 2023, she published (again for the general public): The Hold Me Tight Workbook – A Couple’s Guide to a Lifetime of Love.
Mission?
Dr. Sue Johnson’s mission centered on confirming and demonstrating that attachment science is the most complete way of understanding who we are as human beings and how bonds with others define us from the cradle to the grave.
Much of her work explored how this science offers each of us the promise of recovery from mental and emotional distress, as well as the foundation for relationships that strengthen and help us thrive.
Dr. Johnson was passionate about her work and wanted everyone to know what had been discovered in the last decades about who we are and how we can love successfully. She was particularly enthusiastic about giving dynamic and inspiring talks about the science of relationships and of course, her EFT model of therapy. She also aimed for every therapist to learn how to tune into emotions, not just to heal relationships but to shape positive relationships that last.