Focusing for Beginners (8 weeks)

In this eight-week course, we slowly get to know each of the 6 steps of Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing practice. Each week, we learn about one or two steps and/or a new way of listening in Focusing partnerships. Here is the course overview by week:

• Clearing a space and the Focusing attitude (receiving) + Holding space
• Finding a felt sense + Saying back (mirroring)
• Finding a felt sense about an issue + Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (continue mirroring)
• Getting a handle and resonating + Reflecting with our own words (active listening)
• Felt shifts + Continue active listening
• Asking + Helping your Focuser with general prompt questions (experiential peer listening)
• Asking + Helping your Focuser deepen their experience with specific questions (experiential peer listening continued)
• Noticing patterns + Helping your Focuser deepen their experience with specific questions (experiential peer listening continued)

As we go, we gradually grow our Focusing and listening skills, by building each week some of these skills.

You’ll learn to know where the Focuser is in the process, and when to ask questions which help the process move along, such as:

• “Where do you carry that in your body?”
• “Can you get a handle for that?”
• “What’s the worst about that?”
• “What would it feel like if it as all better?”

Each class begins with a centering/grounding practice and a check-in. We then have a a teaching piece of a Focusing step or two and/or some listening skills and a small embodied guided exercise (experiential). We’ll then have a short break and come back for a demonstration followed by breakout room practice (groups of two or three). We end back together in the main room for some Q&A, sharing and a brief closing.

To further your practice, it is encouraged to also form a Focusing partnership with another participant. This involves meeting between classes to practice, in an exchange of Focusing and listening. You can also opt to be assessed for the Proficiency in Focusing Partnership Award provided through TIFI in the final few weeks of the course.

Timing and other details

Next Groups:

• Fridays, July 3-August 28, 9-11 am UK time // 4-6 am Eastern time (break week July 31) (see your local time) with PUPA Focusing Trainer Ciara O’Neill

  • Registration deadline: June 30th

• Mondays, July 20-September 7, 7-9 pm Pacific (10 pm - 12 am Eastern)/Tuesdays, July 21-September 8, 12-2 pm AEST (see your local time) with PUPA Focusing Trainer Marg Peck

  • Registration deadline: July 17th

• Tuesdays, September 1-October 20 , 10 am to 12 pm Eastern (see your local time) with PUPA Focusing Founder and Coordinator Annette Dubreuil and co-taught by PUPA Focusing Trainee Jane Cecilia

  • Registration deadline: August 28

• Upcoming classes - dates to be determined. Please email me at [email protected] if you cannot make the above course to let me know when you would be available for this training. If you are a practitioner or someone who is an intermediate or experienced Focuser, you could also look at the 4-week version of this course.

Group size: each group is capped at 24 people

Who is this course for? The course is designed for beginners (both beginners in Focusing and listening). (There is also an intensive 4-week version of this course which may be better suited to you if you are an experienced listener but a beginner Focuser).

Course location: Zoom

Course creator: Annette Dubreuil (Coordinator, PUPA Focusing)

Sliding scale pricing: There are spots available at a reduced rates to make the course more accessible. Please view the sliding scale fees page for details and codes if you need support.

Notes:

• You can take this class as a stand alone experience, continue on with the whole PUPA journey, or whatever course or courses resonate with you.
• Consisting of five courses, the journey covers learning Focusing (this course), learning about who you are, discovering who you want to be and what you want to bring into the world with TAE, transforming a large block using the 8Cs of self-leadership, and finally a course on taking action with embodied leadership.
• The journey can also be extended to the PUPA Focusing Certification Program, which includes additional requirements to become a Certified Focusing Professional with The International Focusing Institute.
   

What People Are Saying

Reviews for this course (all 5 out of 5 stars):

"I absolutely loved this course, so much so that I signed up for Pupa’s 2 year trainee track! Annette is a warm, compassionate and brilliant facilitator. I loved the weaving together of various psychological and philosophical concepts through the course. Just the perfect balance of theory and practice. I deeply appreciate also how she makes the course accessible for folks from all financial and geographical backgrounds. Excited to keep learning with her."–Spandana A.

"Clear explanation of the elements of Focusing and plenty of opportunities to practice with another course participant. This was a great class!"–Marcelle M.

"This was an excellent course, Annette is a wonderfully insightful teacher, can't recommend her highly enough."–Catalina B.

"Annette brings a wealth of experience, a gentle demeanor and great intuitive insight into the practice of Focusing. I have experienced great emotional benefits from working personally with Annette and in dyad sessions during this course."–Bruce C.

Feedback for similar 4 week version of the course

“As a newcomer to focusing, I very much appreciated Annette’s ability to hold an open and nurturing space. In addition, her teachings seamlessly built on one another over the span of the course. Presentations were clear, accessible and engaging. Finally, Annette patiently encouraged exploration of the focusing process, an ability that allowed me to grow in my practice—as a person, artist and coach. “–Steve J.

"This was a great class for those who are interested in deepening their connection with both their body and emotions in a gentle and yet effective way. I chose this class to help support my work with my clients as we do somatic processing. This is an excellent tool to help clients learn to settle into their own systems and gain information to support their healing processes. Sessions offered dialectical, practical and demos for concrete learning. We also were partnered with another to practice between sessions. Annette knows her work and is interested in ensuring that everyone gets a good grasp on the material. Her tone is gentle as is her approach to teaching - which is perfect to working with the felt sense."–Oraine R.

“Annette, thank you again for such a great course. Very thorough and informative, nearing an advanced form of the basics. A rich collective experience. Great stuff.”–Blake Biery, US