Focusing

what is focusing?

Focusing is a uniquely powerful tool for bringing change in therapy. It gives us a direct line to the wisdom of the body, so we don’t have to stay stuck in our heads. It is a process of tuning in to what is going on inside us, and how that offers feedback and insight about different situations in our lives. Like this we sense what the right way forwards for us is.

what’s the evidence?

Focusing was developed in the 1960s by Eugene Gendlin and Carl Rogers. They were researching what made the difference between effective therapy that gave lasting results and other therapy that facilitated little change in clients. Their research concluded that change in therapy occurred when the client was engaged in the technique we now call focusing — a process of consulting the body as therapy was taking place. Gendlin then devised a method of teaching clients to use this strategy, so that those who were not naturally engaging in it during therapy could adopt it too, and see a lasting impact on their growth.

Since the sixties, focusing has been practised and researched in hundreds of studies around the world.

focusing offers:

• A way to deep-rooted confidence

• A way to love every part of you

• A chance to feel old things freshly, bringing new life-forward movement to stuck places

• The experience  of your body as a comforting and safe place for you

• Access to an inner compass that reliably guides you to make good choices

key differences between focusing and therapy

In talking therapies, the most reliable predictor of how effective the therapy will be is the strength of the relationship between you and your therapist. In focusing, the therapist’s main job is to strengthen and facilitate the contact between you and your inner process — not between you and them. This means that effective and deep change can be brought about through focusing even when you don’t know your therapist very well. It also means that once you have mastered the basic skills of focusing, you can use it on your own and get great results, empowering you to move confidently through difficult situations.

I tend to combine focusing with a gestalt and arts-based approach to therapy. If you like the sound of focusing and would prefer sessions that are purely focusing-based, I offer these too.