Weeklong for Advanced Focusers 2023

Weeklong for Advanced Focusers

Weeklong para focalizadores avanzados

The 2023 Weeklong will be a hybrid model with two choices.

(1) All online / Todo en linea  including your Home group / incluido su Grupos Hogar
or

(2) Hybrid in Dublin  (English only - solo inglés) You will go online on Zoom on your own computer to experience the plenaries, but all else will be in person (including Home Groups and in-person workshops offered by fellow participants).  You have the option to attend additional workshops online, but the daily plenaries are the only times you are required to be online. Location: Dominican Retreat Centre - Tallaght Village - Dublin 24.

The Weeklong is the flagship event of The International Focusing Institute (TIFI) and began in 1979.  It is a warm and intimate event, and features a certification ceremony. In the early days, anyone who wanted to become certified by the Institute was required to attend a Weeklong.  Now, the Weeklong is still a celebration of certification with TIFI, but it is so much more. At the Weeklong, you will connect or re-connect with our warm and diverse international community.  It is a rare opportunity to be with an intimate group of advanced practitioners, to learn from one another, to share your wisdom and to live Focusing in community for a week.  Español

More information about the history of the Weeklong here

It is intended for all those who are certified by The International Focusing Institute (TIFI) or will be recommended for certification by the start date of the Weeklong.

The Weeklong can reinvigorate or launch your work, and strengthen the foundation of your life-long participation in our global Focusing community.  It is led by a Facilitation Team of Coordinators from different countries and backgrounds.  They are supported by several Collaborating Coordinators, and together this team creates an event rich with learning and sharing.

At the Weeklong, you will deepen or learn new skills, connect with others through common interests, experience a variety of cultural perspectives, and build upon the legacy of Focusing and The International Focusing Institute. There are also ample opportunities to share your skills and your particular Focusing approach.

At the Weeklong, you will gain:

• A deeper understanding of your special place in the ongoing evolution of Focusing and the worldwide Focusing community;
• Deep and life-long connections to Focusers from around the world who share your passion and interests and can offer you continuing support and contact as you take your next steps;
• Practical skills to help you to deepen your Focusing practice, professionally and personally;
• A new or renewed sense of clarity and confidence about how you can offer your own gift of Focusing freshly to the world.

At past Weeklongs, people found they were able to more deeply discover themselves, their gifts, and their aliveness through the experience of deep connection in a profoundly accepting and supportive community — a community that has continued long after the week was completed. The Weeklong is about deepening our understanding and practice of Focusing; deepening our understanding of ourselves and what we bring to the world; and deepening our ability to create together a community based on felt sensing.

Daily Plenary Presentations (required) – Each day the plenaries will be offered live but will also be recorded for those who cannot attend live due to timezone.  These presentations will include simultaneous translation to Spanish.  If you choose to be with us in Dublin, you will go onto your computer to experience these online.

Home Groups (required) – These are small groups (not more than 15 people), facilitated by one of the Coordinators on our Facilitation Team.  The Home Groups are an important part of the Weeklong because they give you a chance to process what you are learning and experiencing and to connect more deeply with some of your fellow participants.  Each will differ slightly based on the personalities of the leader and the group, but each will include Focusing time, sometimes as a whole group and sometimes in dyads or triads.  Those online will have online Home Groups; those with us in Dublin will have Home Groups in person.

Opportunities For You To Present Workshops (optional) – Once you have registered, you can submit a workshop to offer during the Weeklong.  Please e-mail to [email protected] the following information: (1) your workshop title and a one line description, (2) if you are attending online, include the time zone you will be in during the Weeklong (so that we can assign you an appropriate time). Normally, we provide the Zoom room and Zoom support. We will do our best to accommodate all who wish to give a presentation.  They are first-come, first-served, so please send in your information as soon as possible.  Participant workshops are offered online for those attending online; for those with us in Dublin, you can offer your workshop online or in person.  (In-person workshops will not be live-streamed, so you will be offering them only to those with you in Dublin.)

Opportunities To Hang Out For Fun, Conversation Or Focusing (optional) – For those online, we will create times during the week when the Zoom room will be open for you to be spontaneous with one another.  For those in Dublin, these will of course happen spontaneously.

Closing & Certification Ceremony - We finish our week in celebration in a warm and intimate event. During the certification ceremony, whether you are newly certified or certified in the past,  you will be able to locate yourself and your teachers in the history of the Focusing movement on our Focusing timeline.  Those with us in Dublin will both have your own intimate Closing & Certification Ceremony and you'll also hop online to be with the whole group for the online ceremony.

Online Schedule here            Horario Online Español

Dublin Schedule here

IMPORTANT: IF YOU SIGN UP, YOU ARE COMMITTING TO ATTENDANCE  – The hallmark of the Weeklong is the building of community cross-culturally among Focusers from all over the world.  To maintain the nature of the intimacy of the Weeklong, if you sign up, you must commit to attending all Home Groups and all Plenaries. (Plenaries may be watched after-the-fact if you live in a place where the time of day is impossible for you, but we ask that you do your best to watch them prior to your Home Group.)  We also ask you to make an effort to attend as many of the optional events as possible.

Beatrice Blake, New Hampshire, US.  Beatrice always knew that our thoughts influence our experience and our health, but it was not until she was exposed to Focusing in 1989 that she saw that the body is the way to develop that. Originally trained as Doctor of Oriental Medicine, she became a Certified Trainer at the 2000 Weeklong. Instead of being a “healer”, she loves empowering people to find their own healing. Her favorite way of doing that is with Thinking at the Edge. She became a Certifying Coordinator in 2011 and has been to at least 10 more Weeklongs! Beatrice lives with her partner Patrick in southern New Hampshire on the banks of the beautiful Connecticut river. 

TAE Steps 6, 7 and 8 - Thinking from Experiencing - Plenary Presentation      Español
Once we become fascinated with Focusing, we learn to check with our bodies about what is happening in our lives. But how is it that the body knows something that “we” don’t? It’s because our bodies feel situations directly.

Thinking at the Edge shows us how to not only use felt sensing for emotional healing and self care, but also to bring our bodily knowing to something we would like to do, create, resolve, explain, understand, etc. In doing this, we develop trust in the knowing that comes from the unique way each one of us is “wired". For some people, this leads to a wondrous space of creativity, for others it leads to the ability to put words and actions to subtle sensings that we might otherwise dismiss or ignore. This attention to the bodily felt sense makes it possible for us to contribute more fully to the world.

The challenges our planet faces  .....read more

Tom Larkin, Dublin, Ireland.  Tom is a psychotherapist in private practice in Dublin. He is a Certifying Focusing Coordinator, a Children Focusing trainer and a Forest Therapy Guide.

Focusing With Nature - Plenary Presentaiton      Español
Eugene Gendlin said, “There is no ‘body’ apart from the environment. The body generates itself in the environment, out of environment … Living things are always already both body and environment”*. This workshop will be an opportunity to explore experientially what this statement might mean as it relates to our natural environment. For participants it will open up the possibility to make or remake a connection with nature and will model a way of being in the natural world.

You are invited to participate, by phone, tablet or computer, from a safe and familiar outdoor space near you - that could be from a local park or from your garden or from inside your own home either looking out on the natural world or with house plants. Offering Focusing and Forest Therapy invitations, Tom will guide participants in a gentle exploration of their natural environment.

The process draws its inspiration from, and is a crossing of Focusing with Forest Therapy, a form of Shinrin Yoku (translated from Japanese as Forest Bathing).  

Cecilia Burgos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Su encuentro con focusing fue en 1999 dentro de la formación de Counseling Psicocorporal que realizó en Argentina.  Siguió entrenando y culminó la formación en 2003. Interesada en el cuerpo sentido y consciente explora diversos métodos Eutonía, Tai Chi, Hakomi. Enseña focusing desde 2004. Vive con su esposo e hijo en Buenos Aires.

Explorando los gestos y movimientos como  "asidero" - Presentación plenaria           English

“Puede que la acción de dejar que el movimiento corporal surja sea más poderosa que permitir que las palabras vengan de la sensación sentida.”  Movimiento, objetivación y focusing - Psicoterapia experiencial y focusing, la aportación de E.T.Gendlin. cap 17. Ed Desclée De Brouwer
Focusing me ha aportado la integración del cuerpo a mi vida, el cuerpo sentido desde dentro, trae novedad y me abro a ella en sus múltiples formas.

En mi propio proceso y al acompañar a otros he descubierto que los gestos  y el movimiento pueden propulsar el siguiente paso, permitiendo profundizar, ampliar, direccionar hacia donde la vida que quiere vivir esté queriendo ir.

También pueden traer memorias que han quedado guardadas allí y están esperando esta escucha amorosa y espaciosa que Focusing da.

En este taller podremos explorar la fuerza del gesto y/o movimiento mientras surge desde la sensación sentida -este diálogo o zig zag entre la sensación sentida y el movimiento. Como cita Gendlin en el texto mencionado al comienzo: “Una vez realizado un movimiento se puede hacer otro. Si surge una imagen, fácilmente esta lleva a la otra. Cuando se ha dicho algo uno avanza hacia otra cosa con facilidad. En su lugar, sin embargo, se puede volver la atención hacia uno mismo interiormente para intentar sentir de qué surgió el movimiento (o la palabra o imagen) tras el movimiento se puede formar una sensación sentida. Es la sensación del origen de ese movimiento.”

Marta Fabregat, Ireland. For Marta, Focusing brings an ongoing sense of what it is to be alive and at the same time, it shows the next steps with softness and a kind of forward love. She enjoys sharing Focusing with others and marveling together at how the Focusing process works for each of us. She is especially interested in bringing Focusing in Nature as a way of remembering our most innate and ordinary way of being as people in an accessible way. She is a Focusing Coordinator and Trainer and teaches Focusing to groups and through one-to-one companioning.    Español
Workshop: Resonando como naturaleza - Ecología Sentida/Resonating as nature - Sensed ecology ...read workshop description English and Español

Bruna Blandino, Italy - Bruna is a Coordinator and a Relational Wholebody Focusing Trainer. She lives in Turin, Italy and has worked as a Psychosynthesis Counselor for many years.  It was Germana Ponte who introduced her to Focusing 13 years ago.  She followed up her work with Germana by studying internationally and learning various modalities of Focusing. She often works with other Italian colleagues and she believes in promoting connections and deeply embodied relationships among people. During the last few years, she has been working mainly with Relational Wholebody Focusing and Heartfelt Conversation with her colleague Rosa Catoio. Both learned this approach to Focusing from Karen Whalen 8 years ago in Belgium.   Español
Workshop: Grounded Presence and "We Space" in Relational Wholebody Focusing/Presencia enraizada y “We Space” o “Espacio Nosotros" en Wholebody Focusing relacional
 ....read workshop description English & Español

Roberto Larios, Mexico - Roberto is a Medical Doctor, General Surgeon and Psychotherapist. He has found in Wholebody Focusing and Wholebody Focusing-Oriented Therapy the place to explore where both worlds come together (Medicine and Psychotherapy). He is a TIFI Coordinator and gives Relational Wholebody Focusing-Oriented Therapy training programs. He is a co-author with Karen Whalen of the book “Use of Wholebody Relationships in Clinical Practice and in Everyday Life” TM

Roberto es Médico Cirujano y también Psicoterapeuta. El encontró en el Wholebody Focusing Y la Terapia Orientada por el Wholebody Focusing el lugar donde explorar donde estos dos mundos coinciden (Medicina y Psicoterapia). El es Coordinador Certificante por parte del TIFI y ofrece programas de entrenamiento en Terapia Orientada por el Wholebody Focusing Relacional. Es Co-autor junto con Karen Whalen del Libro " “Use of Wholebody Relationships in Clinical Practice and in Everyday Life” TM
Workshop: Exploring the inner Relational Movements in Relational Wholebody Focusing - ...read workshop description English and Español 

Natalia Calviño, Argentina - Naty is a Certifying Coordinator with TIFI, a Focusing-oriented Therapist and Yoga therapist. She has a private practice, for both individual and group therapy. She also teaches the whole Certification Program and other Courses.

Natalia Calviño, Argentina - Naty es Coordinadora Certificante de TIFI, Terapeuta Orientada al Focusing y Yogaterapeuta. Tiene una práctica privada, tanto para terapia individual como grupal. También imparte todo el Programa de Certificación y otros Cursos.

It has become a tradition at the Weeklong to invite an "Elder" to join us.  An "elder" is someone who has been around long enough to have a lot of wisdom to share; someone who has extraordinary Focusing knowledge and stories to tell from their interactions with Gene Gendlin, with other pioneers of Focusing, and from their own experiences of living Focusing. This year we are delighted that Mia Leijssen will be our Focusing Elder.

Mia Leijssen, Belgium
Born 1951. Living in Belgium, Flemish Region.
PhD, Professor (Emeritus) Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Leuven, Belgium. She has been a Person-centered, Experiential, Existential Psychotherapist since 1976 and a Focusing Teacher and Coordinator since 1984.  Mia has been widely published since 1984, especially on Focusing Microprocesses (topic of PhD research), Spirituality, Professional Ethics, Existential Well-being and is the Academic director of the Massive Open Online Course: Existential Well-being Counseling: A Person-centered Experiential Approach.  https://www.edx.org/course/existential-well-being-counseling-person-kuleuvenx-ewbcx  She has a private practice in Existential Well-being Counseling: www.existentieelwelzijn.be Mia is married and the mother of a son and a daughter, who have blessed her with grandmother of 5 grandchildren who range in age from 13 to 20 years old.
Offering - Interaction time with Mia - read description in English and Español

Being multi-lingual is an important value of The International Focusing Institute and of the Weeklong.  We will offer simultaneous translation to Spanish for all plenary presentations.  We will offer a Home Group in Spanish online.  Certainly, a Home Group could be created in another language as well, if there are enough participants who wish to speak that language; please contact us if you would like to explore this option in your language.

Dominican Retreat Centre - Dublin Ireland - conveniently located in Dublin this retreat center offers a tranquil setting with comfortable accommodations and lovely grounds. Visit the website https://domrc.ie/

COVID-19  In accordance with national guidelines, at this time, the Dominican Retreat Center is not requiring that guests be vaccinated, nor any proof of a negative test.

• Zoom host back-up to support main zoom host (minimum 2 workshops)
• Living Room / Sala de estar - Take responsibility for 3 of the Living Rooms. We will provide the Zoom; the volunteer must be familiar with hosting on Zoom and able to act as a warm and inviting host to whatever participants show up. We can specify certain Living Rooms as Spanish and others as English but we cannot provide translation. / Toma responsibilidad para 3 de las Salas de estar Usarás nuestra cuenta de Zoom; el voluntario debe ser muy cómodo actuando como anfitrion de Zoom, y capaz de ser anfitrion acogedor a cualquier participante que venga.  No se puede ofrecer traducción en las Salas de estar, pero podemos etiquar ciertas cuantas como de habla español.
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) written or spoken support based on individual experience
• In person helper at Dominican Retreat Centre, Dublin - Ireland
• Photographer Dublin, Ireland - use your own digital camera or high quality phone for event photos

To apply for or ask questions about workstudy: email [email protected].

A limited amount of scholarship money is available. We ask that you first consider a Workstudy discount and/or the lowest tuition price before applying for this scholarship. To apply please email a short application which includes 1) your name and country  2) your Coordinator's name 3) why you would like to attend the Weeklong; 4) the scholarship amount that would make it possible for you to attend. Please email this short statement to: [email protected]