Focusing Oriented Therapy
A gentle yet powerful approach to transforming how we relate to our problems and challenges.
What is Focusing?
Focusing is a way of listening inwardly.
It sounds like a sharp, pointy kind of activity, but really focusing is more like allowing your awareness to become a little wider and softer, being with whatever is there with some curiosity.
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When we begin focusing, it often is similar to that feeling you get when you’ve forgotten something but can’t quite put your finger on what it is. Focusing helps us recognize the feeling and stay with it until we can see or understand more about what it is.
Why do Focusing?
Focusing came from research on why some people improved as a result of therapy and some did not.
Eugene Gendlin discovered that the people who improved during therapy were doing something unique. These people would pause and listen inwardly before answering a question. They then used unusual phrases and fresh metaphors to describe what they had found.
Focusing is a skill that anyone can learn. It is naturally gentle and non-violent, and the change that comes as a result of focusing often feels like relief, more space, fresh air, softness or warmth.