IN PERSON EVENT

Tangoing with Blocks in EFCT

Staying on the EFT Map

Presenter: Eli Castro, Trainer in Training (mentored by Ryan Rana)
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2026
Time: 9:00 am – 4:30 pm CDT
Location: Depaul University, Chicago, IL

About the Workshop

Blocks are inherent to the change process in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. They often emerge precisely at moments of emotional risk, when partners are invited to access vulnerability, share new and risky experiences, or respond to their partner’s vulnerable disclosure. When this happens, therapists may find themselves feeling disoriented, tempted to psychoeducate, or even reacting defensively toward the client.

This workshop explores how to recognize and work with blocks in EFCT while remaining grounded, attuned and process-focused. Using an attachment lens, participants will learn to understand blocks as attachment-protective responses rather than resistance, and to respond through careful tracking, reframing, and refocusing interventions that maintain safety and deepen emotional engagement.

Emphasis will be placed on staying aligned with the EFT map while helping couples move forward when the process becomes stuck. Through clinical examples, conceptual teaching, and experiential exercises, therapists will strengthen their ability to intervene effectively while embodying the EFT therapeutic stance.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn to:

1. Identify and differentiate common types of blocks that emerge across the moves of the EFT Tango in couple therapy.
2. Conceptualize blocks through an attachment lens, including consideration of sociocultural context, and articulate their protective function at both the intrapersonal and interactional levels.
3. Respond effectively in real time to blocks in session by applying attuned, process oriented interventions consistent with the EFT map and therapeutic stance.

About the Presenter

Eliza Castro, ICEEFT Trainer in Training mentored by Ryan Rana, is a Brazilian clinical psychologist based in Chile, working primarily with individuals and couples from a trauma-informed and attachment-based lens. She is an ICEEFT Certified EFT Supervisor and a Trainer Candidate, as well as co-founder and co-leader of EFT Chile, a growing EFT community in South America. Eliza specializes in attachment injuries, trauma, and complex relational dynamics in couple therapy, with particular interest in how blocks emerge during emotionally corrective processes. https://mariaelizacastro.com/

More Details

• • Registration will close Wednesday, May 27th, 6:00 pm CDT.
  • Register early to secure your spot. Space is limited!
  • Event Address: Depaul University Loop Campus, Depaul Club Room, 1 E Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604.
  • Prerequisite: Completion of EFT Externship is Required for this workshop.
  • CE Credit: Participants attending the seminar will earn 6 CE credits for attending the entire program. Partial credits will not be offered.
    • ChicagoEFT is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs (#168.000220), Psychologists (#268.000137) and for LCSWs and LCPCs (#159.000961). ChicagoEFT maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • More details will be sent out to all registrants after registration closes. Please add info@chicagoEFT.com to your contacts to avoid having this email sent to your spam folder.
  • A limited number of discounted registrations are available for therapists who work with under-resourced populations in a community mental health organization or similar not-for-profit organization and either work in Illinois or within a 200 mile radius of Chicago, and to students, active military, and veterans. Send an email to info@ChicagoEFT.com from your work or school email address and tell us how you qualify.

Registration Cost

Early Bird Pricing until 3/9!
Regular Rate – $240 $220
ChicagoEFT Members – $210 $190
CE Credits – $25 – Discounted CE price!

• • • • ChicagoEFT members – login to the website before registering to receive member rates. If you not yet a ChicagoEFT member, see our Membership page for more information on how to join today.
      • Early Bird Discount! Register by March 9th and save $20!