Emotion Training Institute

This series of seminars covers the core aspects of Dr Joanne Dolhanty’s Emotion Focused Skills Training for Parents (EFST-P). 

Learn this simple and effective system to guide parents to: 

• Navigate their own and their child’s emotions
• Enhance their own and their child’s motivation for change
• Transform problematic relationships in their family.

What is Emotion Focused Skills Training For Parents (EFST-P)?

EFST-P emerged out of Dr Joanne Dolhanty’s pioneering work of including parents in the treatment of individual adults suffering from severe eating disorders. It has since evolved into becoming a lifespan model to work with parents who have a loved one of any age suffering from a mental health or physical health problem, or other problems such as social or educational struggles.

Professionals have implemented EFST-P, in person and online, in a variety of health care and mental health care settings, including large hospitals, small and large community organizations, and private practice. 

Professions that utilize the model include psychotherapists, social workers, child and youth workers, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, and others in the helping professions.

Emotion Focused Skills Training for Parents is an evidence-based intervention.

In a large randomized clinical trial, parents attended this program while their child struggling with the mental health problem did not. Children were assessed before and after the parents received the intervention and again at follow up. Children made significant change although only their parents attended, and at 12-month follow-up, the children no longer required mental health intervention.

Why Become EFST-P Certified?

• Specialized Training: Gain in-depth knowledge of how EFST principles apply to parenting.
• Practical Application: Learn how to help  parents understand their children’s emotional needs and support their children to develop self-efficacy with their emotions.
• Professional Growth: Stand out in your field by becoming a certified EFST-P practitioner, providing specialized services to families in need.
• Ongoing Support: Access a network of professionals and continuous educational resources.

Learning Outcomes

• Core EFST Principles: Understand the fundamentals of EFST and how they apply to the parent-child relationship.
• Emotion-GPS for Parenting: Learn how parents can use their “Emotion-GPS” to guide emotional understanding and behavior in their children.
• Validation and Empathy: Teach parents how to validate their children’s emotions and respond with empathy.
• Motivating Positive Change: Equip parents with tools to motivate change and address emotional blocks in their children, by understanding competing motivations.
• Apology and Repair: Help parents learn the power of an effective apology and how to repair emotional relationships with their children.
• Creating Healthy Boundaries: Guide parents on how to establish and maintain healthy, protective boundaries with their children
• Embrace radical responsibility in place of self-blame
• How we embody the EFST-P stance: We share emotion skills, not parenting expertise