ABOUT US |
The New Mexico Community for Emotionally Focused Therapy (NMEFT) is a non-profit organization that promotes the learning and practice of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).
An approved affiliate of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)
Our Goals
- Expand community awareness of EFT
- Provide skilled EFT therapists to the New Mexico community
- Provide a support network to EFT therapists
- Encourage training and certification in EFT
What We Do
- Host quarterly meetings
- Facilitate connection and communication among EFT clinicians
- Share resources
- Provide EFT learning opportunities
Our Commitment to Inclusion
NMEFT welcomes therapists and clients of every race, ethnicity, culture, language, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, income, and family structure. New Mexico is home to many communities, including Hispanic, Indigenous, rural, and Spanish-speaking communities, and we want EFT training and care to reach all of them. We are committed to culturally responsive practice, to ongoing learning about how culture and identity shape attachment and relationships, and to making our trainings, events, and directory accessible. EFT is grounded in the idea that everyone needs safe, secure connection, and we work to make that true within our own community.
Our Founders
The NMEFT community was founded by the following group of EFT-trained therapists. Learning EFT can be a lonely journey, and they joined together to provide more support to New Mexico therapists on their EFT path. We are grateful for their vision, hard work, and commitment to New Mexico.
The Origins of NMEFT
"Dedicated heroes have made the NMEFT community vibrant and indispensable for learning and practicing this model to the great benefit of both clinicians and clients in our state.
It's a long look back to 2010 when I first met and trained with Dr. Sue Johnson. There were no New Mexico clinicians certified in the model then and no in-state training opportunities. Studying EFT as a New Mexican meant trains, planes, buses, hotel rooms, and sometimes someone's couch. For me, it also meant traveling while sandwiched between raising children and caring for elderly parents.
As I grew in EFT, more and more couples sought me out for therapy. Two things became clear: New Mexico needed more EFT therapists, and this complex, life-changing model was challenging to learn alone. Because EFT is relational and experiential, it made sense to learn it in community. And for more EFT clinicians, training needed to be accessible closer to home.
I offered study groups, individual and group supervision, movie afternoons, and other gatherings, connecting with clinicians from Taos to Las Cruces. Interest grew. Those who could traveled out of state for core training. Eventually, Tricia, Tahlia, Jessica, and I formed a working group to create an ICEEFT-affiliated New Mexico EFT Community.
In the fall of 2018, the New Mexico EFT Community became official. Our steering committee spent the next year planning our first-ever New Mexico Externship, scheduled for March 18–21, 2020, with 50 clinicians registered to attend in person.
And then the pandemic hit and the externship was cancelled.
We regrouped, rescheduled, and in the fall of 2020 held the first-ever New Mexico Externship on Zoom. We did it, though on Zoom, and in-state training was launched.
Much gratitude and respect goes to those who were on the journey toward community with me and to those who are continuing today."
— Marcelle