Description: Addiction is often triggered by loneliness, trauma, or loss, yet many traditional treatments fail to uncover the root cause, and focus instead on managing addictive behaviors--with varying degrees of success. Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) provides readers with the tools they need to heal the emotional pain and isolation that addiction desperately attempts to soothe. Readers will also learn essential skills for building a sense of belonging and safety with the ones they love--so they can lean into community and connection instead of drugs and alcohol.
Brief description: Michael Barnett, LPCC, is a certified trainer in emotionally focused therapy (EFT) who has added to the canon of EFT training by helping clinicians work more effectively with trauma and addiction through the EFT lens. Barnett specializes in the use of EFT as a humanistic/experiential, attachment-based therapy to transform clients' relationship with their addictive processes. He is codirector of the Emotionally Focused Therapy Center of Los Angeles, and founder of the Atlanta Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy. He resides in La Crescenta, CA.
Review Quotes: "Finally, a reader-friendly and practical guide to helping people understand and overcome addictions utilizing attachment theory. This book provides the reader with hope and a clear pathway to make foundational changes in their relationship with addiction. If you are someone or know someone struggling to find a way out of addiction, I highly recommend this book."
--Joel S. Porter, PsyD, senior clinical lecturer at the National Addiction Centre at the University of Otago, and adjunct associate professor at the Centre for Applied Psychology at the University of Canberra--Joel S. Porter, PsyD