EFT Core Skills

An eight day immersion in the theory and practise of Emotionally Focused Therapy.

February 24 – 27 and May 19 – 22 2025 in London

Organised by BEFT and led by EFT Trainers Sandra Taylor and Helene Igwebuike

Event Details

Core Skills is now full, and registration is closed. If you'd like to be placed on a waiting list, please contact Randall Horton at randallhorton@beftcentre.org.

Monday 24 – Thursday 27 February 2025

Monday 19 – 22 May 2025

Early Bird tickets available now at £1,650

Standard £1,800 fee applies from 15 January 2025

Some reduced fee places are available

Timing: 9.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. each day

Venue: Voluntary Action Islington,
200 A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP
(close to Kings Cross)

The rooms are on the first floor and are accessed by stairs or a lift. There is wheelchair accessibility.

This is the second level of the training required towards becoming a Certified EFT Couples therapist (EFCT) and is endorsed by the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT).

There are 2 versions of Core Skills, in Britain we run the longer 48 hour advanced version that gives you more time to develop and integrate your skills and knowledge. Your training experience includes presentations of theory and clinical techniques, including specific video clips from EFT sessions; training exercises; role plays; Q&A sessions and discussions linking your learning to your client work.

We cultivate a climate of inclusion and welcome participants in all their diversity. We also offer some lower fee places to widen participation.

Core Skills consists of 2 sets of 4 days that help you learn the skills needed to become an effective EFT therapist. Each session focuses on the EFT Tango and moves through the stages and steps, from assessment to consolidation and ending. We will be working with cycles, moving between the interpersonal and intrapersonal, effectively deepening emotion whilst working in the window of tolerance, and facilitating the processes of withdrawer re-engagement and pursuer softening.

The first 4 days will focus on working in Stage one, from assessment through to de-escalation of the negative cycle. The second 2 days will focus on Stages two and three, including – how the work changes in Stage Two, withdrawer re-engagement, pursuer softening, and consolidation and ending.

On completion

Participants receive an Attendance Certificate after each module and after completing all four modules will receive a Core Skills Certificate of Attendance.When you have completed the Core Skills and 8 hours of EFT supervision you will be able to change your status on the ICEEFT Directory (and subsequently the BEFT Directory) from ‘Externship’ to ‘Additional Training’.(If you would like to become a full member of the British EFT Centre, please join on this website.

Required reading

The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection, 3rd edition, by Susan M. Johnson, 2020. Routledge.

Participants:

You are eligible to apply if:

  • You are a member of a recognised counselling / professional mental health organisation or a student on a substantial counselling/mental health course and​
  • Have completed an EFT Externship
  • Be working, or intend to be working, with couples/partners during the life of the course


Agree to actively participate, including role plays, and agree not to share confidential information or to watch videos of people that you recognise.

Diversity and Widening Participation

We actively welcome therapists in all their diversity and recognise that being a member of one or more minority groups and / or working for minority groups may result in the cost of the course being prohibitive. We offer some widening participation reduced fee places and invite you to click here to find out if you are eligible and how to apply. The decision about who will be offered these places will be made at least 6 weeks before the start of the course.

The trainers:

Sandra Taylor, PhD

Sandra TaylorSandra Taylor is an EFT Trainer, Supervisor and Therapist based in Lancashire, England. She is a co-founder of the British EFT centre  and is a co-Director. 

She is director of AcRE EFT Training Ltd. and regularly runs EFT courses in Britain, LGBTQ+ centred EFT trainings internationally (online) and  she runs EFT trainings for PSEFT (online – Poland). 

Sandra is a member of ICEEFT – International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy and is on their Education Committee and Editorial Board, and is an accredited member of BACP – the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She works in private practice online and her client work is predominantly with LGBTQ+ people, see: www.potential-development.co.uk

Some of Sandra’s intersecting identities are that she is a lesbian cis-gender white female, disabled, a widow, and Catholic.

She previously worked as Director of Relationship Counselling in a national charity, and was a Senior Lecturer providing counsellor training at the University of Cumbria after more than 10 years as an Occupational Therapist in a range of mental health settings.

Sandra is a warm, knowledgeable and engaged trainer with a passion for helping people learn EFT.

Helene Igwebuike, MA

Helene IgwebuikeHelene Igwebuike is a certified Emotionally Focused Couple Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer. Helene is Joint Centre Head of the British EFT Centre supporting the growth of the British EFT community. Helene loves spreading her love of EFT by training therapists in the model in the UK and abroad.

Helene is mixed race of both Nigerian and Danish heritage and grew up in Nigeria till she was 17 years, after which she moved to Denmark to study Chemical Engineering. She moved to London in 1997 for postgraduate degrees in Information Systems and Journalism, and then retrained as an Integrative Counsellor from 2003.

Helene completed her MA research at Bath Spa University on the seeding attachment intervention and runs engaging workshops on seeding attachment to grow attachment security with couples.

Helene is passionately committed to helping couples and individuals heal and transform the relationship with themselves and loved ones. Helene has a wonderfully diverse cosmopolitan practice based in London and online and runs Hold Me Tight relationship enhancement workshops for couples.

Helene is  a member of ICEEFT – International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy and is a registered member of BACP – the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Email: helene@counselling4couples.co.uk or call 07762 333644
Website: http://www.counselling4couples.co.uk