Summer 2022

October 16 - 21
Online & In Person Options in Dublin Ireland and Madison CT (US)

• Zoom host: Back-up to support main Zoom host (minimum 2 workshops)
   
• Living Rooms: 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.
   
• Salas de Estar: 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 You must be fluent in English and Spanish. We have interpreters for the online workshops, but we sometimes need to support them with things like translating specific questions or documents.
   
• In person helper at Mercy by the Sea, Connecticut, USA
   
• In person helper at Dominican Retreat Centre, Dublin, Ireland
   
• Photographer Mercy by the Sea, Connecticut, USA: use your own digital camera (or high quality phone) for event photos
   
• Photographer Dublin, Ireland: use your own digital camera (or high quality phone) for event photos

It is our pleasure to welcome our newest Board member, Veronica Toescu.

Veronica first learned Focusing with the team at London Focusing, which has now become the base for her professional practice, supporting new students to become Focusing-Oriented Therapists.

Her partnerships are central to her practice of Focusing. Some of them are longstanding, and others more recent. She has benefitted from several workshops offered by The International Focusing Institute and made very special connections with people from all over the world.

 

At our July meeting, the Board heard wonderful reports from Vice President Evelyn Fendler-Lee and Executive Director Catherine Torpey about the 2022 International Focusing Conference, held in June in Ardèche, France. According to their informal report to us, the conference included a long overdue and well-received Coordinators' gathering. Among other things, the Coordinators there indicated that the Pilot Program for naming Coordinators has been successful and that it's time to convert it into the normal process, retiring the old system. Much appreciation goes to the French Focusing community for organizing such a successful conference.

We also welcomed Rob Parker to our July meeting. A long-time Focuser, former Board member, and friend to Gene Gendlin, Rob discussed the issues surrounding the word “Focusing,” as it has a public meaning which we cannot overcome. For example, automated translation services such as Google Translate do not recognize the word’s special meaning above the common public meaning, and therefore translates incorrectly for our purposes. Rob remembered that in the early days, Gene often used the term “Experiential Focusing” to refer to his work. The Board will continue to discuss this issue at the next Board meeting.

Finally, the TIFI Board is delighted to welcome Veronica Toescu as the newest Board member. Based in Birmingham, UK, Veronica says, “Although my surname is Romanian in origin, I am from La Paz, Bolivia but have settled to live in UK. I speak Spanish, English and Romanian fluently. I learned Focusing with the team at London Focusing Institute, which has now become the base for my professional practice of Focusing, supporting new students to become Focusing Oriented Therapists.” We are delighted to have her with us.

 

Welcoming New ILC Member, Guilherme Tostes

We are delighted to have Guilherme join TIFI's International Leadership Council. Guilherme is a Professor and Internship Supervisor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Minas Gerais, where he coordinates two Lato Sensu postgraduate courses: one called Phenomenological Existential Humanist Psychotherapy and the other called PCA and FOT and Psychopathology, Phenomenology and Mental Health.

Through the phenomenological method, he researches the living experience of people who have mood swings and people who self-harm. He is also dedicated to Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy. He worked in the psychology department of a psychiatric hospital for 13 years, where he was also the manager.

Founder of Instituto Sapientia Cordis and Focusing Brasil, he also manages an NGO that provides psychotherapeutic care for people who are unable to pay.

 

ILC Reports on Special Meetings