The Gendlin Center for Research in Experiential Philosophy and Psychology is proud to announce
Marisa Hoslet - Recipient of the Gendlin Grant For Original Research In Psychology
Marisa Hoslet's groundbreaking research project is "Exploring Focusing and Mindfulness."
The study is concerned with the stress university students experience in today’s fast-paced academic environments. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) have shown promise in reducing stress and increasing academic performance. But what about Focusing? This is a topic that has not been rigorously researched. Identifying this promise, Marisa has set out on a mixed-method approach to study the effects of training in two different methods on a variety of stress measurements among university students. These two trainings are MBSR and Focusing.
Marisa, who is currently working at the Brussels University Consultation Center (BRUCC) at VUB in Etterbeek, first learned about Focusing from Professor Mia Leijssen at KU Leuven (Belgium) when she was in a post-graduate program in client-centered therapy. Later, she trained to become a Focusing-Oriented therapist with Claude Missiaen and Chris Van de Veire. Currently she is researching for her doctorate at the University of Antwerp under the supervision of Professor Ellen Gunst.
The Gendlin Center committee received a number of submissions, and we found Marisa’s project to be particularly diligent and rigorous and we have great faith that the trainings and data analysis will be conducted carefully. A complex study, this project is scheduled to take three academic years and perhaps even longer for data analysis and the final write-up to be completed.
This kind of careful research takes time, and we very much look forward to the results.
For Focusing to become better known and more widely practiced, high quality research like this is needed. The Gendlin Center was created for the purpose of making sure that it happens. We hope that Gene would be pleased to see his legacy being carried forward.
The Gendlin Grant ($5,000 this year) is entirely dependent on the donations that are given to The International Focusing Institute for that purpose. If you agree that this kind of research is valuable, we hope you'll consider giving a donation of any amount.
Thank you to those who made this grant possible, and we wish the very best of luck to Marisa as she conducts this valuable research.
Akira Ikemi, Ph.D.
Chair, Gendlin Center for Experiential Philosophy and Psychology
Professor Emeritus, Kansai University
Your support makes it possible for the Gendlin Center to continue offering these vital grants and to carry Gendlin's work forward.