In
the mid-1960’s, a philosopher-therapist named Eugene Gendlin
participated in a research project designed by his mentor, Carl Rogers,
to answer this question: What makes the difference between therapy that
succeeds and therapy that doesn’t?
Rogers’
hypothesis: Therapists must be doing something when therapy succeeds –
a different technique or orientation or way of talking about issues –
that they are not doing when it does not.
He was wrong.
Dr.
Gendlin discovered that the difference did not lie in therapeutic
technique or orientation -- or, in fact, with anything the therapists
did or didn’t do. The difference, was that the successful clients
themselves did something different in their very first therapy session that unsuccessful clients never did.
It
only took a few moments, and it wasn’t particularly dramatic. The
client’s speech would slow, and he would pause, grope for words, maybe
wait in silence for a bit … then seize upon the "right" word or phrase
and go on.
As Dr. Gendlin
looked more deeply into these powerful moments, he made two fascinating
and important discoveries about the way successful clients worked:
- They had a vague, hard-to-describe inner awareness - a bodily felt sense - about their problems.
- They paid attention to this felt sense in specific ways that allowed change and healing to occur organically.
From this small discovery came an amazing tool - an easy-to-learn process Dr. Gendlin called Focusing.
Focusing
is a simple, step-by-step process that anyone can learn. You don’t need
an advanced degree or a special license to do Focusing. Once you
receive basic training in the process, you can do it alone or with a
similarly trained partner.
Many people
have Focusing partners with whom they share regular sessions, taking
turns being a supportive listener for each other, either in person or
on the phone. But beyond a structured,
let’s-sit-down-and-do-some-Focusing appointment, you may find that your
Focusing practice can take the form of quick, one-minute check-ins with
yourself during the day. For example, if you find yourself having an
emotional reaction to something your boss says to you, you can return
to your desk and quietly take a moment to turn your awareness inside
and give a gentle “Hello” to the parts inside that are having feelings
– a basic Focusing skill you learn in the first workshop.
Focusing
offers a kind of left-brain approach to the often murky world of our
inner motivations and emotions. It provides a bridge between the
rational and the non-rational, and a balance to our culture’s emphasis
on linear, logical, action-oriented living.
