Tribute to Sue

By now most of you know about the death of our fearless leader, Dr. Sue Johnson. Where to start? How do you separate the woman from the EFT model? To most of us, she IS the model of EFT. When we first learned EFT, we heard a British accent in our head. We tried to emulate her (and no one actually can). 

Sue is a giant. The passion she gave every single time she talked about attachment, emotion, EFT, experiential work - it made you believe all over again. And yet, she wasn’t a guru. She was committed to creating a model that is scalable. She didn’t want it to be all about her - she wanted it to be about change.

I met her once. I was at a conference in DC. At the time, I was Certified, but not yet a Supervisor. I was just as passionate about EFT back then as I am now. I never know what to do when I’m around a hero. Of course I was starstruck. I stood in a line at a VIP reception just to shake her hand (I think Kenny Sanderfer, EFT Trainer and my mentor, got me in). The person I was with said something clever to her, a comment starting with “You know what’s funny?” I honestly don’t remember what the rest of that sentence was. But, I’ll never forget Sue’s response.

“You know what’s funny? I don’t give a damn!”

Next in line, I was so scared. What is she going to say to me?!

I fumbled over my words, and said something about being connected to Kenny. She looked at me with kind eyes, hugged me and we took a picture. I think we spoke more words to each other, but I don’t remember what they were. I just remember how I felt. I was in the presence of my hero, and she knew it. She was so kind about that.

Have you ever thought about what she must have gone through to be a pioneer, as a woman - changing couples work forever? In the 80s?!

Sue. I am still in awe of you. 

Because of you, my marriage bond went from insecure to secure. Because of you, my professional life has a rich meaning and purpose. Because of you, thousands upon thousands of people understand what it is to love. 

If you would like to contribute a written or video tribute to Sue’s legacy - ICEEFT has provided a way to do that here.

Grieving with you,

Kelly