We know that Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) can feel powerful in the therapy room. But does it work in a measurable, research-backed way?
This new randomised controlled trial — the gold standard in psychological research — says yes.
Wiebe, S. A., Johnson, S. M., Allan, R., Campbell, T. L., Greenman, P. S., Fairweather, D. R., Ismail, M., & Tasca, G. A. (2025). A randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused individual therapy (EFIT) for depression and anxiety. Psychotherapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000586
What was the study about?
This study looked at whether EFIT could help people struggling with depression and anxiety — two of the most common reasons people seek therapy.
The researchers randomly assigned 88 adults to one of two groups:
• One group received EFIT (about 15 sessions).
• The other group was placed on a waitlist for therapy (and got EFIT later, after the study period).
They measured symptoms using standard tools for anxiety, depression & psychological wellbeing.
What did they find?
EFIT made a meaningful difference.
Compared to the waitlist group, people who received EFIT showed:
• Significant drops in both depression and anxiety
• Better emotional regulation (ie. consistent improvement on a general measure of psychological wellbeing)
This is particularly incredible given this research was conducted at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic – a time when most people were experiencing increased distress and decreased regulation!
Even more encouraging? These improvements held up under a rigorous form of statistical analysis (called Multilevel Modelling – MLM). Researchers didn’t just measure symptoms before and after treatment, but after every single session, too, and using MLM they were able to show clear and significant improvement for the treatment group, compared to no such improvement for the waitlist group, on all the outcome measures used.
Why does this matter?
This is the first published randomised controlled trial of EFIT — and it confirms what many EFT-trained therapists already see: that EFIT offers more than just insight or symptom relief. It is able, for many clients, to meaningfully contribute to recovery from depression and anxiety.
It reaches people at a deep emotional level, helping them shift old patterns, reconnect with themselves, and build a more secure sense of inner safety.
EFIT is not just treating surface symptoms. It’s supporting people to heal at the roots — which may explain why the benefits stick.
A couple of quotes from the study:
“Our results demonstrated statistically significant gains in general psychological symptoms, as well as depression and anxiety symptoms across approximately 15 sessions of EFIT. In contrast, no significant gains were found for the wait-list control group.”
“Remarkably, improvements in general distress and depression and anxiety symptoms were found in the study for those in the EFIT condition during a time when the majority of the population was experiencing worsening mental health and increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
What’s the takeaway?
EFIT isn’t just promising — there’s now research evidence to show that it can support recovery from depression and anxiety.
At Connections Count, this matches what we witness every day: that when people feel truly seen and supported in their emotional world, they don’t just cope better — they begin to feel differently about themselves.
They soften. They strengthen. They grow. They move from self-criticism to self-connection.
And that’s where real change begins.
Want to experience EFIT for yourself?
As a client: Connect with one of our trained EFIT therapists today →
As a practitioner: Join a supervision group →
