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📢 We are pleased to share that the latest issue of the bimonthly journal “Niebieska Linia” (1/162/2026) features an article by Barbara Sławik titled “Violence and Couples Therapy. Working within the EFT Model” 📘 The author was invited to write this piece in the autumn of 2025 by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Katarzyna Miłkowska. We are glad that, despite the challenges and numerous uncertainties – described by the Editor-in-Chief in her introduction – currently faced by organizations working to prevent domestic violence (largely related to the funding of their activities), the article has now been published ✨
This publication addresses a topic that evokes strong emotions among professionals: whether, and under what circumstances, couples therapy is possible in the context of violence. For this reason, Barbara Sławik and Aneta Bukowska were invited in November to speak at a regular meeting of the Social Dialogue Sectoral Commission for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (HERE).
The article explains that not all violence in relationships is the same. A key distinction is made between intimate terrorism – which excludes couples therapy – and situational couple violence, which arises from escalating conflicts and difficulties with emotional regulation. It is in the latter case – provided specific safety conditions are met – that Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) can become a pathway to interrupting the destructive cycle and rebuilding a secure emotional bond 🤝
The text is intended both for therapists interested in working with couples and for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the relational roots of intimate partner violence.
📖 Read the article online here:
🔗 https://www.niebieskalinia.pl/czasopismo/biezacy-numer
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The article comes at a particularly meaningful moment. Those interested in the topic can now pre-order the Polish-language edition of a book devoted to working with violence in couples therapy within the EFT model, written by Barbara Sławik’s Belgian teachers – Lieven Migerode and Jeff Slotmaeckers 📖
The book has been published by Oficyna Związek Otwarty / OZO under the patronage of the Polish EFT Association – HERE.
