April 2020
We, the Board, the International Leadership Council (ILC) and the Executive Director of The International Focusing Institute (TIFI) wish to clarify certain long-standing policies of relevance to Coordinators. These are not new policies, and should not be confused with the Pilot Program on the naming of Coordinators which the ILC is currently running. Some TIFI policies have evolved since the earliest days, so there can be multiple understandings, based on when a Coordinator entered into his or her work. This document is an effort to make explicit some of the policies which have been implicit for many years, so that we can operate in a climate of clarity, consistency and fairness.
The policies of the Institute are, of course, always subject to change when circumstances or understandings change. Therefore, as always, we welcome comments, questions and conversations.
- Any Coordinator can name any individual as a Coordinator
Any Coordinator of any country can name any person (as long as they have already been certified through TIFI) to be a Coordinator-in-Training (CiT) and, subsequently, a Coordinator.
- Coordinators and Certified Focusing Professionals/Trainers (CFPs) are free to teach worldwide
The Institute does not grant any Coordinator, nor any organization run by Coordinators, exclusive rights over any territory. In fact, we encourage "cross-fertilization" between cultures and countries. The tendency to learn from someone in a different country (and with different people over time) has accelerated in recent years, as videoconferencing now allows people to easily communicate outside of their local area. We believe that this serves to strengthen Focusing training and allows people to follow the path that is most suitable for their individual needs. Also, Certified Focusing Professionals (CFPs/Trainers) and Coordinators are free to teach in any location. They do not need the permission of the local Coordinator. A Coordinator who is teaching in a country or area other than his or her own is requested to consider how their presence will be experienced by the local Coordinator (or Coordinator-in-Training, if that area has a CiT but not a Coordinator), and might want to inform the local Coordinator that they will be teaching in the area.
- The Coordinator who certified an individual as a Certified Focusing Professional (CFP/Trainer) does not have to give consent for that certified person to be named as a Coordinator (nor as a Coordinator-in-Training).
Any Coordinator may invite any person who has been certified as a CFP/Trainer through TIFI (no matter who certified them) to enter into the process of becoming a Coordinator- in-Training (CiT) and subsequently a Coordinator. It is also true that if a certified person is interested in becoming a Coordinator, they may approach any Coordinator in any country to act as their Mentoring Coordinator. There has never been a requirement that the Coordinator who certified the person must be consulted, nor play any role in bringing the individual to the status of Coordinator.
PLEASE NOTE: The International Leadership Council (ILC) created new guidelines in December 2017 for how to appoint Coordinators. The new guidelines are currently being tested in a Pilot Program. The new guidelines aim to ensure that at least three Coordinators are part of the training of the Coordinator-in-Training (so that there is both a wider network of support and also so that there is greater accountability to the community). At the present time, Coordinators and Coordinators-in-Training may choose to undertake the training of the CiT either under the old guidelines (which allow one Coordinator to name another Coordinator-in-Training without having a Support Team), or under the Pilot Program (which requires that the Mentoring Coordinator have two other Coordinators to form a Support Team). Consistent with long-existing policy, the Pilot Program does not require that the original Coordinator be part of the Support Team.
- Coordinators must be members of TIFI, but TIFI does not require that they be members of other Focusing organizations
We value collegiality and community among Coordinators (and Coordinators-in- Training). We would like our Coordinators to work cooperatively; however, TIFI has never imposed any requirement that Coordinators (nor indeed any of our members) must be members of any organization other than TIFI itself. Many Focusing organizations are sprouting up all over the world. Some of these are regional organizations, and some of them are interest-based. Regional or interest-based organizations are free to create their own rules for their own members, and some require that their members be members of TIFI. Naturally, we are grateful when an organization supports TIFI in this way. However, it has so far never been the policy of TIFI to require any of our members to be members of their local or interest-based organization.
OTHER POLICY CLARIFICATIONS MAY COME IN FUTURE
There are other policies which might need to be clarified in the future. For instance, the ILC is reviewing issues around certification in a careful and Focusing way. When the ILC offers chances for you to give feedback or attend a meeting about such issues, please participate. We want to take into account all ideas, perspectives and experiences. We recognize that hearing from speakers of all languages is important and we are always working to create opportunities to hear from all of you.
Thank you for the wonderful work you do to spread Focusing and all its related practices in the world. Our relationship with Coordinators is important to us, and we welcome your responses, questions and comments.
With respect and warmth,
The Board (focusing.org/board and [email protected])
The International Leadership Council (focusing.org/ilc and [email protected])
Catherine Torpey, Executive Director ([email protected])