Sue Johnson

Sue Johnson is known for her work in the field of psychology on bonding, attachment and adult romantic relationships. Johnson's work emerged on the family therapy and psychology field at a time when most couple's therapy approaches focused on one or more of the following: cognitive and behavioral interventions, improving communication skills, teaching negotiation skills, or applying psychoanalytic theory to the relationship. Johnson's focus on emotions and emotional process was often met with disdain or dismissed as it ran contrary to dominant views of emotion as being problematic or unnecessary to address in couples therapy.She along with Dr Leslie Greenberg developed Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and the founder of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT), a not for profit research and therapist training institute, where she also serves as Director. Johnson also heads the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute and is Professor Emeritus in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa and Distinguished Research Professor at Alliant University in San Diego, California. Johnson’s best known professional books include, The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection (2004) and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors (2002).