Children & Focusing Roundtable Series - Unfolding through Symbolization: A Process of Implicit Precision

Monday, September 13, 2021  2:00-4:00 pm EDT (New York - US)

Times worldwide: convert to your time zone

Children and teenagers are already able from a young age to symbolize from the Felt Sense, but often they do not easily find words. Symbolization through creative expression is easier for them and therefore is a more accessible way for them to express what comes from the Felt Sense, or what they experience in general.

In this Roundtable we would like to invite you to explore how different forms of symbolization and activities can help children and teenagers to connect with their inner self-experience. We will share case examples and videos and discuss ready-to-use techniques that can help young people with self-expression in an open, safe, supportive environment.

Questions and themes we might explore together are:

• How can symbolization help young people to connect with their inner selves?
• Which materials and activities are supportive?
• Which four interventions are essential to attune to the need and wanting of the implicit process to let their Felt Sense unfold?

Other topics and themes may emerge from our mutual exploration during the Roundtable.

Who might be particularly interested in attending this Roundtable?

Anyone who is around children, especially working with children in groups or classes. Also, anyone who would like to explore their inner child experiences for which they don’t yet have language.

CONNECTION>CONVERSATION>COMMUNITY

What to expect from Focusing Roundtables: Each Focusing Roundtable is designed to promote informal peer-to-peer conversation. Rather than acting as expert presenters, the Hosts will serve as conversation moderators to encourage sharing and exploration of the topics from the participants’ own perspectives.  All participants’ sharings are welcome and valuable, no matter what level of experience or knowledge you have on the topic. To preserve the nature of informal conversation, the program will be offered live only and no recordings will be available. Registration is limited and on a first-come, first served basis. Participants are encouraged to create follow up opportunities for connection among themselves after the Roundtable.

The TIFI Membership Committee is pleased to offer this series of Focusing Roundtables designed especially for members of the Institute. If you are not a member, please join at http://www.focusing.org/membership, then return to this page to register. This program will afford members a valuable opportunity to engage in casual peer-to-peer conversation with other members who share Focusing-related interests.

About your hosts:

René Veugelers is a Coordinator specialising in Children’s Focusing, with an emphasis on the non-verbal world. René teaches parents, therapists, teachers and others how to be with children in a Focusing way, how to (re)connect to their own inner child experiences and how to integrate creativity and flexibility into their life and work. His work and experiences as a psychiatric nurse and as an art therapist with children, of any age, embraces an expanded richness of creative elements and supports a natural unfolding of creative process. René lives and works in the Netherlands, where he teaches Children Focusing and specializes in working with children with ADHD, ADD, trauma and attachment disorder.

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.

Joke Van Hoeck has been a child psychologist and psychotherapist for more than 18 years. A  mother  of three children (ages 3, 12 and 15), she can’t imagine a life without Focusing. She is a certified Focusing Professional and Focusing oriented therapist. Joke lives and works in Belgium and has a special interest in bringing Focusing to parents who are looking for a new way of dealing with the daily life struggles in raising children.