Deepening and Expanding and Growing with Your Support
This expression of gratitude poured out of a participant in our recent TAE Academy:
I dropped out of studying philosophy a long time ago, but then I found Gendlin. He’s taught us how to use living language to make sense of a transformative path which continues to change as we change. It's a wonder. I'm very grateful, very grateful for all the things that are going on, and these 4 days have contributed so much richness. Part of the surprise is that my whole life is more coherent now, even what is pre-verbal. It's been deepening all of my work with clients and with colleagues. And so a very deep thanks to all of you for all your work, and and for the whole community. I’m just very grateful. (Bill Gayner)
When I took on the role of Executive Director of The International Focusing Institute, one of the first things that Gene Gendlin expressed to me was his sadness that he had not yet succeeded in helping people in the Focusing community to “get” the importance of philosophy.
I know he’d be pleased to see the richness of offerings from TIFI these days. There have been classes in philosophy every year for several years and we are building up the number of academic philosophers in the world who are excited about Gendlin’s work. The Gendlin Research Center has added two new members, one of whom is Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir, who is a professor of philosophy at the University of Iceland. (The other, whom we’re equally excited about, is Siebrecht Vanhooren, a professor of psychology at KU Leuven University in Belgium.)
The Gendlin Research Center, which has given two grants in psychology so far, is now offering its first prize for an academic paper on Gene’s philosophy. These prizes and grants are made possible only by your donations.
Capping off this past year, TIFI held its first Thinking at the Edge (TAE) Academy.
So many, like Bill whom we quoted above, are finding their lives enriched beyond even the profound changes that discovering Focusing has given them.
Please help us to continue deepening our work. Your donations allow us to make programs like the TAE Academy possible. Income from programs and memberships do not cover all of the costs of running TIFI. Please give as generously as you can.
"Espiritualidad y el borde turbio"
"One must learn to wait, there, with that, and return to that repeatedly while it remains murky and closed for a time…. Soon big steps come from these…. it is within close reach of anyone. It is not… too mysterious to have." ~ Gene Gendlin
The Felt Sense Conference began in 2018 to honor the legacy of Gene Gendlin by exploring the many facets of felt sensing. The image for the conference is a bridge as a reminder that when we honor the felt sense, it carries us forward to new territory. We explore together the next bridges to cross, from where we are now to the next right place to go.
Join us this year as we explore Spirituality and the Murky Edge.
Proposals are due November 30.
Moments of Wonder
February 10-12, 2023
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!
João da Fonseca: Guilherme, conta-me um pouco sobre o teu percurso e como chegaste ao Focusing?
Guilherme Tostes: Olha João, eu sempre me senti uma criança deslocada neste mundo. Na minha família e no local onde cresci, estive sempre rodeado de pessoas boas e de bons cuidados mas parecia-me que o mundo apenas funcionava a um nível material ou que apenas tinha preocupações materiais. O tema pela espiritualidade me mobilizava desde cedo.
Em termos profissionais eu formei-me em Psicologia em 2007, mas em 2005/2006 resolvi fazer um estágio no Hospital André Luiz em Belo Horizonte, um Hospital Psiquiátrico Espírita filantrópico (https://heal.org.br) que tem cerca de 160 vagas de internamento e que oferece tratamentos espirituais às pessoas, para além do tratamento psiquiátrico convencional para as diversas perturbações e crises da saúde mental.
Na altura da minha graduação, o hospital criou um cargo para eu lá ficar a trabalhar. Comecei a trabalhar como psicólogo clínico em 2007 e posteriormente me tornei gerente do departamento de psicologia. Trabalhei no hospital durante 13 anos, até o final de 2018. Aí, eu e a minha equipa de psicologia, formada por 17 pessoas, atendemos crises psicológicas agudas em conjunto com a equipe de enfermagem e médica. A presença da equipa de psicologia fez com que com o número de contenções físicas e medicamentosas dos pacientes em crises agudas fosse reduzindo significativamente, ao ponto de se ter desenvolvido um protocolo no hospital onde a equipa de psicologia era a primeira a intervir nas crises, sendo depois seguida, caso fosse necessário, pela intervenção da equipe de enfermagem e médica. Este tipo de intervenção, que evidenciava a importância da abordagem centrada na pessoa em conjunto com a Focalização Experiencial, foi tão significativa que acabei por publicar um artigo sobre esse tema da intervenção psicológica nas crises psicóticas.
João Fonseca
O João é psicólogo clínico, Focusing Coordinator e psicoterapeuta com formação certificada em Terapia Transpessoal, Existencial, Focusing Oriented e Psicodélico-Assistida. Trabalha em consultório particular e na Clínica Liminal Minds em Portugal.
Board: Congratulations, ILC!
The TIFI Board invited Claude Missiaen and Massimo Zarghetta from the International Leadership Council (ILC) to officially present the “Procedure for Naming Coordinators” to the Board for approval. The ILC has been leading the intentionally slow and deliberate process of creating, testing, receiving feedback, and polishing this procedure over the last ten years.
The ILC felt ready to submit the procedure to the Board for formal adoption, which was unanimously and joyfully approved. The Board expressed appreciation for the care, patience, and persistence of the ILC in guiding this process to successful fulfillment. The Board also expressed appreciation for the leadership of the ILC and for all Coordinators who reviewed and provided feedback during this long vetting process. The ILC will soon send out notification of their document soon; Coordinators watch for this notification by email.
In other business, the Board approved a new policy which allows them to appoint adjunct Board members at the discretion of the Board. This special position allows the Board flexibility in appointing non-voting Board members for a term of one year to fill special short-term needs of the Board, to bring specific areas of expertise, to increase diversity by making Board service more accessible, or to provide TIFI members with an opportunity to gain experience on a non-profit Board.
Finally, the Board reviewed both the third quarter financial report and an annual financial report as required by the USA government to retain non-profit status. Both reports, as well as the annual auditor’s report, confirm that TIFI finances are managed responsibly and in compliance with the USA law.
The Weeklong 2022:
An Experiential Point of View from a Participant
by Beth Mahler
Special thanks to Dan Schachter, who has been on the Core Team for the Weeklong for 3 years, and participated as a Collaborating Coordinator before that. He helped to steer us through the unexpected turmoil of adapting to the pandemic. Thank you, Dan! He's pictured here with his Home Group in Dublin
A human experiment of a superhuman kind, this year’s Advanced and Certification Weeklong lifted its voices Sunday to Friday, October 16-21, 2022, and was a truly magnificent worldwide Focusing event. This year marked the first ever hybrid Weeklong. The superstar coordination team of Beatrice Blake, Tom Larkin, and Dan Morten Schachter aligned schedules to successfully and simultaneously facilitate in Ireland, USA, and via Zoom. With the support and collaboration of Executive Director Catherine Torpey, Administrative Assistants Elizabeth Cantor & Rita Kirsch, and the many contributing Coordinators and Zoom tech hosts, 60 participants plus 8 volunteer staff from 26 countries (in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa) attended together. The team skillfully created an immersive experience of connectivity and community for Focusers around the globe. We truly lived the practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Participants were guided through a stream of ongoing felt sensing, Focusing attitude practices, new learning explorations and education through a plethora of workshops. Advanced Focusers, along with our newly emerging and graduating class of 2022, Certified Focusing Professionals, Trainers, and Therapists, took time to receive the gifts of Focusing while offering the gift of attuned, fully-present listening to classmates and workshop participants.
If I were to give you the essence of this Weeklong, it would be this: Incredible & Edible: A Restorative Pause to Runwind. Of course, you may not fully understanding this sentence. You might be reading this and perhaps consulting a dictionary to define or translate, where you’ll find all the words - incredible, edible, restorative, pause - and their many meanings. But as any Focuser understands, when you get to chapter eight in Living the Process Model, new words form: runwind. As Focusers, we let this happen and even embrace its integral part in the living process. You won’t find “runwind” in any dictionary, because it came from a uniquely defining moment in my Focusing history and felt sense experience. It guides me through the way to distinctly define and understand that which can only be described with this precise word. This new word captures a microsecond of explosive energy (of the good kind); rewinding into past experience memory while being in the present moment, while moving forward in life experiences. It captures the essence of exercising the physical and emotional body toward healthy living by going in the opposing direction that is habitual or patterned-thinking behavior. This is so we can “check” the felt sense and let it move us in the direction of self-realization and actualization. Full disclosure here: I was skeptical of participating in the experiment of 2022. And I was too exhausted with Zoom fatigue to do much of anything to help support the Contributing Coordinator team this year. Luckily, I have had five delicious experiences at past Weeklongs, prior to the pandemic. Because of this, I knew the group of Coordinators and the community of Focusers would allow me to engage and question the experiment and what it had to do with living my life. What I knew clearly was I NEEDED an in-person Weeklong to restore my Zoom-fatigued body, mind, and soul.
If I were to give you the essence of this Weeklong, it would be this: Incredible & Edible: A Restorative Pause to Runwind. Of course, you may not fully understanding this sentence. You might be reading this and perhaps consulting a dictionary to define or translate, where you’ll find all the words - incredible, edible, restorative, pause - and their many meanings. But as any Focuser understands, when you get to chapter eight in Living the Process Model, new words form: runwind. As Focusers, we let this happen and even embrace its integral part in the living process. You won’t find “runwind” in any dictionary, because it came from a uniquely defining moment in my Focusing history and felt sense experience. It guides me through the way to distinctly define and understand that which can only be described with this precise word. This new word captures a microsecond of explosive energy (of the good kind); rewinding into past experience memory while being in the present moment, while moving forward in life experiences. It captures the essence of exercising the physical and emotional body toward healthy living by going in the opposing direction that is habitual or patterned-thinking behavior. This is so we can “check” the felt sense and let it move us in the direction of self-realization and actualization.
Full disclosure here: I was skeptical of participating in the experiment of 2022. And I was too exhausted with Zoom fatigue to do much of anything to help support the Contributing Coordinator team this year. Luckily, I have had five delicious experiences at past Weeklongs, prior to the pandemic. Because of this, I knew the group of Coordinators and the community of Focusers would allow me to engage and question the experiment and what it had to do with living my life. What I knew clearly was I NEEDED an in-person Weeklong to restore my Zoom-fatigued body, mind, and soul.
A special thanks to Beth Mahler for capturing her experience of the Weeklong so beautifully!
Beth is a Focusing Oriented Therapist and Certifying Coordinator. In addition to her private practice, she has led Focusing Highlights classes for the Institute and offers retreats in New Jersey and New York.
TIFI's Journal: The Folio
The Folio is the journal of The International Focusing Institute. Each issue concentrates on a particular area related to the theory and practice of Focusing. Journal topics range from Transformational Focusing Experience and Thinking at the Edge, to Focusing with Children and Focusing with Trauma. Folios are free for paid members of TIFI. Non-members are invited to purchase copies of the Folio by contacting [email protected]. Some Folios are available for purchase in hard copy. Contact [email protected].
Non-members can see Folio selections here.
NEW in the TIFI Bookstore
Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvogal Method
The Bookstore also has a wonderful selection of books that make great gifts.
To see our full online bookstore
click here
Milestones
We are happy to congratulate the following new Coordinators, Certified Focusing Professionals (including Trainers and Focusing-Oriented Therapists) and Proficiency in Partnership Awards (PFP). Congratulations to each of them on their achievement. We wish them all the very best in their ongoing endeavors!
Mentoring Coordinator: Tom Larkin Supported by Suzanne Noel, Monica Perez lturraspe and Jan Winhall.
Natalia is a Certifying Coordinator, a Focusing Oriented Therapist, and Focusing Trainer with her own private practice for individual and group therapy. She also teaches the Focusing Certification Program and other courses. She says Focusing has changed and enriched her life in many ways, and is passionate about sharing the inner and natural wisdom of Focusing with anybody who is open to explore the depths of their inner world.
Mentoring Coordinator: Bernadette Lamboy
Trained in Focusing ten years ago by Bernadette and Gérard Lamboy, Christine has never stopped studying and practicing it. A Certified Trainer for three years, she teaches focusing at the IFEF Institute as an art of living: knowing how to listen to oneself and follow one's inner compass through feeling. She says Focusing is the most beautiful encounter the universe has offered her, and hopes to live up to Eugene Gendlin in its promotion and transmission.
Marta is a TIFI-certified Focusing Coordinator, Certified Nonviolent Communication Trainer, and Focusing Mentor from the British Focusing Association. She has worked as a holistic Mediator and conflict resolution practitioner for over 20 years. Committed to contemplative practice in nature, she is also a Shamanic Herbal Healing practitioner and Clinical Herbalist. She lives in the west of Ireland with her family where she holds trainings and Focusing retreats.
Mateja specializes in Marital and Family Therapy. She is a licensed Relational Family Psychotherapist, Certified Focusing Professional, Focusing Trainer, Focusing-Oriented Therapist, Children's Focusing Trainer, EMDR practitioner and International Yoga Teacher. Mateja started her journey of discovering inner landscapes in herself and then in others with yoga at the age of 19. She integrates all her knowledge and experience when working with people. She lives in Slovenia and is an outdoor enthusiast.
New Certified Focusing Professionals
| Shirley Alves, US Coordinator: Beth Mahler, supported by Maria Skoufas, CiT Süle Árpi, Belgium Coordinator: Mia Leijssen supported by Claude Missiaen and Chris Van de Veire Guiomar Burgos, Spain Coordinator: Kay Hoffman supported by Marta Fabregat, CiT Victor Cabrera Vistoso, Chile Coordinator: Edgardo Riveros Aedo Beatriz Delgadillo, Bolivia Coordinator: Monica Iturraspe Ram Eisenberg, Israel Coordinator: Dana Ganihar Carol Fishelman-Rosen, US Coordinator: Beth Mahler, supported by Maria Skoufas, CiT Teresa Gonzxåiez, Spain Coordinator: Kay Hoffman supported by Marta Fabregat, CiT Dou Jia, China Coordinator: Chee Seung Chan Alexandra Johnson, South Africa Coordinator: Beth Mahler, supported by Maria Skoufas, CiT Barbara Kazanovich, Israel Coordinator: Liora Bar Natan Erin Keller, US Coordinator: Beth Mahler, supported by Maria Skoufas, CiT Michelle Krenzelok, US Coordinator: Beth Mahler, supported by Maria Skoufas, CiT |
Anne Lawrence, US |
Proficiency in Focusing Partnership Awards (PFP)
Lourdes Mergado
