This event is closed.
Houston EFT Externship 2026
Join us for the Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) Externship, a transformative, four-day training designed to provide therapists with an in-depth understanding of EFT.
This immersive training is essential for any clinician looking to specialize in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and is the first step toward advanced certification in the EFCT model.
Led by a certified EFT trainer, this externship explores the science of attachment and its application in couple therapy. Through lectures, live demonstrations, and hands-on practice, participants will learn how to conceptualize relationship distress and repair using the attachment-based framework of EFT.
You'll develop key skills, including building strong therapeutic alliances, mastering the five moves of the EFT Tango, and overcoming common therapeutic blocks.
This externship is open to all licensed mental health professionals and students in these fields. No prerequisites are required, though it is recommended to complete the "Fundamentals of EFT" course beforehand.
EFT Externship Q&A
The EFT 4-day externship you will learn to:
- See marital distress from an attachment perspective.
- Help partners reprocess the emotional responses that maintain marital distress.
- Shape key new interactions and bonding events.
- Overcome therapeutic impasses.
- Watch real couples in a demonstration sessions.
- Practice key skills and interventions with assistance and feedback.
“Underneath all the distress, partners are asking each other: Can I count on you? Are you there for me? Will you respond to me when I need, when I call? Do I matter to you? Am I valued and accepted by you? Do you need me, rely on me?”
- Dr. Sue Johnson, the primary developer of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
4-Day EFT Externship
February 18th- 21st, 2026
Presented by
Dr. James Hawkins
Cost of the Externship:
Early Bird Registration $1,150
if registering before January 31st, 2026
Standard Registration $1,300
Identity Affirming, Non-profit, DEI, & Student Tickets are also available.
This event is closed.
Research studies find that 70-75% of couples who use EFT move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements.
Dr. James Hawkins, ‘Doc Hawk,’ is a Licensed Counsellor, and an ICEEFT-certified trainer, supervisor, and therapist. He obtained a Master’s in Marriage and Family Counselling and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Counseling. He currently serves as a Clinical Coordinator at a non-profit counselling practice in Northwest Arkansas.
James is also the founder of Healing Conversations, a training program developed to equip organizations and communities to have productive conversations about race. He is the co-host of two podcasts, The Leading Edge in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and The Leading Edge: Transforming Leadership Through Attachment Science.
James is a part of the online training program, successinvulnerability.com, developed to help EFT therapists and supervisors gain more focus in their clinical work. Doc Hawk brings a passion for helping individuals, couples, families, and communities in relational distress.
