Check Out Jessica Schroeder’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Schroeder.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
While KCEFT’s origin story begins in Kansas City, we have somewhat of a turducken form of founding, it’s a story within a story. While KCEFT was launched by a group of local therapists, they were all inspired by, trained in, and practice a specific therapeutic model called EFT or Emotionally Focused Therapy.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is an approach to individual, couples and family therapies and was developed in the 1980’s by Dr. Sue Johnson. The theory is based upon emotional responsiveness and adult attachment and bonding and has helped therapists understand what happens in distressed relationships in addition to being able to help therapists understand how to help couples in distress. While historically EFT was used with couples, today EFT is used to help individuals and families in addition to couples achieve safe, secure emotional connections.
KCEFT really began the way many good things do — with a small group of people who shared the same passion and wanted to learn together. When we first started learning Emotionally Focused Therapy, we quickly realized something important: EFT is easier to learn when you have other therapists learning alongside you. That’s not just a happy coincidence — it’s actually built into the heart of EFT. The whole model is about the power of safe, secure relationships, and how those bonds give us the courage to try new things.
In the early days, there was nothing formal about it. We’d meet wherever we could — in each other’s living rooms, tucked away in quiet corners of local libraries, or gathered in one another’s offices…even Olive Garden! We’d share our challenges, celebrate small victories, and encourage each other when the learning curve felt steep. Those meetings became a safe space, much like the secure attachments we were learning to help our clients build.
It wasn’t long before we thought, “If this is helping us so much, maybe it could help other therapists too.” So, we decided to open it up. We started hosting monthly community meetings where one of us would take a turn picking an EFT-related article, reading it, and preparing a discussion to spark new insights. Those conversations were always lively — part study group, part support group — and they kept us motivated and connected.
From those small gatherings, something bigger began to take shape. We started organizing EFT Externships and Core Skills trainings, so therapists in our area could access high-quality EFT education without having to travel far. And as the community grew, so did our vision. We began offering specialty trainings — like Emotionally Focused Family Therapy and EFT with Addictions — meeting needs we saw among our colleagues and in the wider mental health field.
Looking back, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come. What started as a handful of therapists sitting around in someone’s living room has grown into a vibrant, supportive professional community. But at its core, KCEFT is still about the same thing it was in the beginning — finding your people, creating a safe space, and growing together.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Like many organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic hit our community hard. Therapists who had always worked face-to-face suddenly found themselves providing telehealth services from home, and KCEFT had to shift as well. While we were grateful for technology, it wasn’t quite the same as being in the same room together — especially for a model like EFT, which is all about human connection.
On top of that, the founders had already been pouring huge amounts of time, energy, and heart into building the community. We hadn’t fully anticipated the emotional toll. EFT is rooted in emotional accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement — and we weren’t just teaching the model, we were living it. That deep emotional investment was beautiful, but it was also exhausting. When the pandemic arrived, it amplified that fatigue, and we made the difficult decision to pause almost everything.
That pause, though challenging, gave us the space to rest, reflect, and reimagine what KCEFT could be.
In late 2024, we began rebuilding. We restructured the board and took our community meetings to the next level by inviting EFT supervisors from other communities to share their expertise. That infusion of fresh energy and new perspectives has been incredible. Today, we’re proud to say that KCEFT is flourishing again. We’re bringing EFT to clinicians who are eager to learn, and we’re doing it with renewed passion and a healthier balance for our leaders and members alike.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a nonprofit, volunteer-led community organization based in the Kansas City area, dedicated to supporting the learning and practice of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Led by a committed board of volunteers, our group offers a welcoming space for therapists and therapists in training to connect, grow, and support one another in their EFT journey. Through ongoing education, supervision, and training opportunities, we aim to foster both meaningful connections and professional development while strengthening the local EFT community. By equipping and inspiring EFT therapists, we hope they will go on to help individuals, couples, and families grow stronger together—ultimately building a healthier, more connected community for us all.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to us is learning and supporting local therapists as they embark on their own EFT journey. From the very beginning, we’ve worked to make learning about EFT — and growing in the skill of working with individuals, couples and families — more accessible. That means offering resources locally, so therapists don’t have to travel far or go it alone. Over the years, we’ve held both basic and advanced trainings, and we currently offer monthly community meetings that blend education, connection, networking, and support. These meetings are free to all local therapists and graduate counseling students, and for those who want a more hands-on form of support, we also offer membership perks like marketing opportunities, access to learning materials, and — launching in January — free monthly EFT group supervision from our local supervisor and board president, Jessica Schroeder.
We learned early on that learning Emotionally Focused Therapy is much harder when you try to do it alone. It goes against our very wiring as human beings — we are not built to be isolated. So, we built a community. A community where therapists can show up exactly as they are and be met with understanding. A community where we lift each other up when the work gets heavy. A community where we celebrate successes, share struggles, and remind each other why we do this in the first place. What started as a few therapists huddled around a training video has grown into a vibrant network of clinicians who share a passion for EFT and a commitment to each other’s growth.
And as we’ve rebuilt, something really special has happened — our current board has become our very own “KCEFT dream team.” We’re not just colleagues; we’re friends. We’ve built a connection that is kind, supportive, encouraging, and deeply rewarding. Each person brings unique skills, and together, we complement each other beautifully. We’ve become safe, secure attachments for each other — living out the very principles of EFT in our leadership — which is a rare and precious thing. Our hope is that the warmth and connection we have at the board level radiates throughout the KCEFT community, so every therapist who joins us feels that same sense of belonging and support.

Pricing:

• Free to all local therapists, counselors, and therapists in training.
• Membership options start at $45/year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kceftcommunity.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kceftcommunity/?igsh=MXAxbm10bGNoYmVkdw%3D%3D#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KCEFTCommunity