The Recordings -Past Event - Moments of Wonder - Online Children & Focusing Conference

Past Event - Open for Post Registration until May 1st. Registrants will have until May 15th to view the recordings and accompanying handouts.

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Join Us Online

February 10 - 12, 2023 
Start Friday 6:00 am Eastern (NY Time) - End Sunday 2:00 pm Eastern (NY time)
Your time here

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Focusing comes to children naturally, with unique simplicity! We invite you to join us and share the precious moments when Focusing invokes the presence of wonder.

This conference is designed for anyone interested in learning and deepening their Focusing wisdom. Whether you are experienced with the crossing of Children and Focusing or are simply curious to learn what others are doing ! Also for professionals working with children and young people of all ages from toddlers to teenagers! And of course open to parents, grandparents, caregivers, and to anyone interested in learning more about how Children & Focusing cross.  Most importantly it’s available for YOU!

The Planning Committee   

Laura Bavalics

Harriet Teeuw

Joke Van Hoeck

René Veugelers

Presenters
 

Lucy Bowers - Adventures in Fairy Land
How I have used Elevator Rides with Children in Focusing
NOTE: Unfortunately, Lucy will not be able to be present at the conference.  She has arranged for her colleague Susan Watson to present "Elevator Rides". Susan used "Elevator Rides" with her own students for many years. 

Lucy  is an Ontario certified elementary school teacher retired from the Toronto Board of Education who describes Focusing as a powerful and effective way to deal with overwhelming emotions and blocks to living in a fully alive manner. She first learned Focusing in 1984 from Ed McMahon, PhD and Peter Campbell, PhD as a process called Bio-Spirituality. This became a practice in her personal life for growth and healing. Since then, Lucy has become a pioneer in using Focusing to help children learn that the real teacher is within each of them, which has given children of all ages confidence and allowed self-esteem to grow. She adapted Focusing to be used in primary classrooms with an activity that the children fondly named "Elevator Rides". It has been her privilege to present her work throughout Canada and internationally to teachers, parents, grandparents, social workers, etc. Lucy is a Certifying Coordinator and a Certified Focusing trainer with The International Focusing Institute.

Dr. Atsmaout Perlstein - Interaction First and Kol.Be Body Mapping: A Master Key to Unlocking the Mystery of  Bodymind

"What one feels any moment is always interactional, it is a living in an infinite universe and in situations, a context of other people, of words, and signs, of physical surrounding, of events past, present, and future" (Gendlin ____).

In our zoom meeting, we will explore three philosophical principles of Gendlin called: Interaction First, Nothing Between and the Person in There, and how Kol.Be Body Mapping can support and facilitate integration of these principles into a way of living and healing the bodymind.

When we put these three principles on "one key chain"  they open the door to the body wisdom - the realm of birthing felt senses and steps of change in life: "When a step comes from a felt sense, it transforms  the whole constellation.  It might be a big dramatic step or a very small one, but it is a change in the nature of the whole" (Gendlin, ______).

Kol.Be Body Mapping presents a human body image with .... read more 

Atsmaout is a clinical psychologist, active for the past thirty five years.  She devotes her current professional practice to lecturing and training psychotherapists and Focusers in using KOL.BE Body Mapping as a therapeutic tool.

Harriet Teeuw - Using symbols as an entrance to the Felt Sense

How the use of symbols helps children to connect with the inner felt meaning of the Felt Sense. Children need different and less verbal approaches as an entrance to their Felt Sense. Expressions of art, movements or symbols helps unfolding and moving forward their inner process.  In this workshop Harriet will share some examples of symbolizations of the felt sensing processes. She will give an explanation what she means by Listening in Three Directions and how that helps the Focuser to unfold the Felt Sense. In a guided group exercise we will experience how the use of symbols can help your Focusing process.

Harriet  is a Focusing Coordinator and Art Therapist, working in her own practice with children and adults in The Netherlands. Teaching “Dynamic Expressive Focusing” and Focusing International Online Certification Program for Focusing Practitioners https://www.childrenfocusing.org/  https://www.deruimte-info.nl/    [email protected]

Additional Presenters

Laura Bavalics - Open Doors During the presentation, we'll explore how Focusing can support creating a family-like atmosphere in the classroom for children, including children in foster care. Our hope is to step into a class by unfolding the many ways how children can learn about their own emotions, and how they can learn to turn with care and with empathy towards others. Through the discussion, the participants will hear from a mother, who will share a parent's perspective about the "open doors" concept. And about the important roles, parents can have in foster children's lives in the classroom.

Bio - Laura Bavalics is an early childhood educator, play mentor, and drama teacher. She is a Certified Focusing Professional and a Focusing-oriented educator, who has been working with young children, parents, and   professionals for over twenty-five years. She is a professional director of the Pendula inclusive kindergarten program for children in foster care and with special needs at the Világszép Foundation in Hungary. She   is also teaching at ELTE University, Hungary, in their College of Education. Laura is a member of the International Leadership Council and the Children's Focusing Advisory Board.

René Veugelers - A Wonder Space around the Inner Critic
In this presentation I will share my perspective and daily experience in my work with teenagers. They are just discovering their unique way of recognizing how to relate to their critical process inside and their own way of exploring all of this.  Sometimes the hardest part is knowing how ....read more

Bio - René Veugelers is an international Children Focusing Coordinator, Focusing-Oriented Therapist (FOT), Art Therapist, Psychiatric Nurse and group social worker, trained in Emerging Body Language (EBL). He lives in the Netherlands, where he works with parents, toddlers, children and adolescents, emphasizing the non-verbal world and inner child experiences and is teaching Children Focusing (CF) all over the world. https://www.childrenfocusing.org/

Barbara Dickinson - Focusing Belongs in Schools
A decade ago, I was privileged to work with Dr. Gendlin on projects he hoped to create. One called “National Associations” was about his belief that we could approach associations of teachers or school superintendents, show them that Focusing belongs in schools, and have a nation-wide “ripple effect”.  I will describe the project design to present Focusing to Teachers and to offer ....read more.

Bio - For the past decade, Barbara has worked on a variety of focusing-oriented consulting projects, based in part on her work with Dr. Eugene Gendlin in 2011-2012. She is a Certified Focusing Professional who uses Focusing, Thinking at the Edge, and Interactive Focusing in her work with non-profit organizations and business professionals.

Liz Baring - The Essentials of Sandplay
In this video presentation I invite you to witness the healing power of Sandplay;  The essentials of Sandplay are a specially proportioned sand tray, a water source, and a variety of miniatures (such as people, animals, vehicles, plants, shells etc.  An empathic therapist provides a protected free space that encourages children and adults to express their inner unrealized selves in a safe and non-judgmental space. I will describe and discuss my bi-directional creative work with Philip ....read more

Bio - Liz is a bilingual (English and Spanish) licensed psychoanalyst, a licensed creative arts therapist, a registered Sandplay practitioner, a focusing oriented therapist and a focusing trainer.

Mareike Ringena - Focusing and Dance/Movement Psychotherapy in a Special Needs School
In this presentation I will talk about my work in a special needs school where I am incorporating Children Focusing in Dance Movement Therapy sessions. I will be talking about the Focusing moments and describe the work with some children where the Focusing approach really made a difference to the therapeutic process and allowed the therapeutic ....read more

Bio - Mareike is German but living in England (Bristol). She is a  a Dance Movement Psychotherapist as well as a Focusing Practitioner and Childrens Focusing Companion and has been working with Children And Young People for about 3 years. She has been working in Special Needs schools as well as in Mental Health Organisations and Supported Living Services.

Derek McDonnell - The Wonder and Gift of Pausing
This will be experiential in nature with input on slides and experiential exercises  incorporated into this will be case studies from children’s own journeys of Pausing.This is open to everyone a parent, grand parent, professional from all backgrounds.

Part One:  It starts with “The self” - The wonder of the pause as a gift in interactive dialogue ....read more

Bio - Derek is a social care professional working in child protection services in Ireland with children and their families over the past 30 years. He has specialised in teaching Focusing through interactive Pausing, with children and their families and in the educational sector in school classroom setting. He has a small Focusing practise for children and families.

Mia Maes - Moments of Wonder within Group Sessions
Several years ago I was blown away reading the book of Martha Stapert and Erik Verliefde , De kunst van het luisteren (The art of listening).  With that experience and as a young psychologist for children and adolescents I felt a deep wish to bring children together and experience what Focusing can do ....read more

Bio - Mia is a psychologist and experiential psychotherapist.  She has her own private practice for psychotherapy in Belgium.  Since 2018 Focusing is integrated in her work as she followed many courses and supervision (wholebody focusing, focusingtrainer, focusing oriented therapist).

Tine Swyngedouw - 'Interactive Focusing for parents, grandparents and caregivers'.
Interactive Focusing was developed by Janet Klein and Mary McGuire. It is a wonderful tool to enhance empathic understanding of yourself and others and create deep connections with yourself and others. You can also work ....read more
Bio - Tine Swyngedouw is a psychologist, Focusing trainer and certifying coordinator for adults and children in Belgium. She is certified by Mary McGuire and Masumi Maeda as an Interactive Focusing teacher. www.EFocusing.be

Anna Boukydis - Kids These Days
In this presentation we will explore different questions and obstacles faced by young people - from “What should I do with my future?” to the after-effects of lockdown. Anna is currently in her last year of high school, and will give some insight into her generation, as well as share some of her personal experiences, and tools that help her as she deals with many of these uncertainties herself.

Bio - Anna Boukydis is currently in her last year of high school. She volunteers at Hungary’s leading child rights foundation and has worked on projects with professionals advocating for human rights. Focusing has been a part of her life since she can remember, as her parents are Focusers.

Monika Lindner - We are each others environment - imagining a culture of Moments of Wonder
What would a world be like that allows children to experience Moments of Wonder as normality? Adults, as relevant interaction partners, form the social environment (#en3) of children and have power as well as responsibility to shape it. This workshop follows the idea that Thinking At the Edge is a practice that through self-reflection ....read more

Bio - Monika Catarina Lindner, Dipl.-Päd. Univ., is an educationalist with a focus on intercultural learning and works as a project manager for German courses and lecturer at a university. She is a certified Focusing trainer and as an Experiential Concept Coach/Trainer (ECC) she specializes in teaching the philosophical practice "Thinking At the Edge" (TAE). 

Luiza Stefan - My „moments of wonder” or how I met my inner playful child
“All grown-ups were once children... but only a few of them remember it.” (The Little Prince)

I was lucky to be one of the „few” that remembered I was once a child. In the personal process of becoming a therapist, I met many times the old pain of my inner child. I listened repeatedly to the old stories about how it was to be a child in a world of busy or unaware adults. And this helped until a point, after I was stuck … A shift ....read more

Bio - Luiza Stefan is Focusing Coordinator in Training. She has worked with children and adults since 2007, as a psychologist, in schools and in private practice. She is also a person-centered psychotherapist, a sandplay practitioner and a Nonviolent Communication Certified Trainer. 

Annat Gal-on - Homefocusing workshop for parents
Focusing teaches us how to be with what is inside us, and how to be with our focusing partners or with our clients. But what happens when we come home? How can we use Focusing qualities in our daily life, with our own children? What are the challenges in being with our children in a Focusing way? What can support us? How can we support them?  In this experiential workshop you will explore those questions and work on a specific challenge in your parenting.
Please have some papers, crayons and some small objects - toys, stones, colorful post-its to use during the workshop.

Bio - Annat Gal-on, a Focusing coordinator for adults and children and a Family Constellation facilitator, developer of HOMEFOCUSING – Focusing-Oriented Relationship

Leonie Stewart - Four experiential exercises for children (and you too)
I will guide you through 4 experiential exercises in which you will build "inner resources" . You can do them with children from 7 years and up. I will do them as I would with an 11-year-old. I also use these practices with adults in adapted ways. Cultivating Self-compassion (adapted from Jane Quayle) - Getting to know our Big SELF (created by me Leonie Stewart)- Getting bigger than what is bothering you (adapted from Ann Weiser Cornell) - Create a Protective Boundary (adapted from Julianne Taylor Shore).....read more

Bio - Based in Sydney, Australia, Leonie Stewart provides counselling, coaching & focusing sessions. She enjoys working with individuals, couples and also young people. Leonie believes we are all meant to belong and connect, love ourselves and others, and so to find meaning. She finds purpose in helping others find their own way forward to a happier and more hopeful life full of possibilities.

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