In Memoriam…

With sadness, we share the news that Dr. Sue Johnson, founder of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, died April 23, 2024, after living with cancer for three years. If you’ve been to a Hold Me Tight® workshop, or read the book, you are among the countless couples, individuals, and families worldwide who have been impacted by Sue’s life and work.

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 help couples repair conflicts, strengthen their relationships and improve their mental health, Sue viewed hundreds of hours of tapes of therapy sessions to find the key elements that made the difference and changed peoples’ lives. Her resulting thesis became the core of EFT -- a humanistic and experiential model of therapy based in attachment theory and drawing on the power of emotion to create change. EFT has become the couple therapy with the best empirically-validated results in the world.

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.

In addition to her contributions to therapy and research, Sue is described as an amazing partner, incredible “mum,” cherished friend, person of warmth and wisdom, gardener, feminist, tango dancer, lover of nature, and student of history.