Dr. Sue Johnson
Dr. Sue Johnson revolutionized the study of relationships, uncovering how love bonds function and how they can be healed through psychotherapy. Over 30 years ago, she developed Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), now widely recognized for helping couples reconnect and thrive. Through extensive research, Dr. Johnson and her team demonstrated EFT’s effectiveness for couples (EFCT) and later expanded the approach to include Emotionally Focused Therapy for individuals (EFIT) and families (EFFT).
Her groundbreaking contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious “Psychologist of the Year” award from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Order of Canada for her global influence on psychotherapy.
“When you have a safe connection in your relationship, you can pass the quality on, not just to your kid but to your kid’s future partners . . . When we love our partner well, we offer a blueprint for a loving relationship to our children and their partners.” –Dr. Sue Johnson
More to the story
Dr. Sue Johnson sadly passed after our interview with her and did not get to see her important contribution to Kids These Days.
The text below is from Dr. Sue Johnson's Obituary. Click here to read on.
World renowned psychologist, best selling author, professor, researcher, creator of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), amazing partner, incredible mum, gardener, feminist, tango dancer, lover of nature, student of history, Sue lived with cancer for three years. On April 23, 2024, that journey ended.
Sue was passionate about her work, passionate about her family and friends - and her dogs. She loved teaching and treasured her students.
Sue was the recipient of various awards and was most proud of receiving the Order of Canada from her adopted country.
Sue was born on December 19, 1947 and grew up in Kent, England, staying there until completing her undergraduate degree from the University of Hull. Soon thereafter, she moved to Vancouver, Canada, where she completed her master's degree and subsequently her doctorate from the University of British Columbia.
Wanting to determine how best to help couples repair conflicts, strengthen their relationships and improve their mental health, she viewed hundreds of hours of tapes of therapy sessions to find the key elements that affected the difference and changed peoples' lives. Her resulting thesis became the core of EFT - a humanistic and experiential model of therapy which has now become the couple therapy with the best empirically-validated results in the world. Along with her colleagues, during (and after) her tenure as a professor at the University of Ottawa, she further developed EFT to demonstrate its equal relevance and value for individual (EFIT) and family (EFFT) therapy, grounded in attachment science and the strength of emotional connection.
Sue leaves a substantial body of work - numerous books, articles, chapters, teaching videos, interviews, podcasts, and her first work of fiction, Edgar & Elouise. Her first book for the general public, Hold Me Tight, Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, has sold over one million copies, been translated into over 30 languages, and been developed into relationship educational programs for both live events and online formats.
