ATTUNED RELATING: Structure and Spontaneity

Attuned Relating:  Structure and Spontaneity

“Here is a new message: Fitting in and pouring out are not the only alternatives! We do not need to pour ourselves out raw and blind, or go back to fitting in. There is a third alternative, a different way forward, a further stage.”

-Eugene Gendlin

The promise of a new way of relating is, for many of us, as exciting as the first colorful flowers of spring. Our Therapeutic Us seminar has been focused on working with groups and communities. We’ve studied about and experimented with how Focusing can help us enter this further stage of relating that Gendlin pointed to. We’ve articulated principles and relational skills for interacting with others—speaking directly to the other from our felt experience in the moment—taking the other in without losing touch with our individual selves. We invite you to join us in this venture even if you haven't participated in the previous modules. 

In this 6-session series we will summarize some of the guidelines we have developed so far and practice the art of Focusing-oriented relating with each other. The emphasis in this module will be on the balance between STRUCTURE and SPONTANEITY. We need enough structure for the group to be held and enough spontaneity for genuine expressiveness. 

We will explore issues such as:

·      What kinds of interactions carry us forward as individuals and as a group?

·      What types of structures can be scaffolds for building group cohesion and relational freedom?

·      What structures are implicit and what do we want to be made explicit?

·      What procedures foster room for the individuals to pause and find the more of what they are saying without losing the momentum of the conversation? 

This seminar is both didactic and experiential. We will explore concepts from a Focusing perspective and practice relating with each other. It will be particularly helpful for therapists of all kinds, group leaders, teachers, coaches and for anyone who wants to relate more fully in their own personal lives.