Other Ways of Working with Focusing

There is Nothing Wrong With You That What is Right With You Cannot Fix

Combining Focusing with Other Approaches

Focusing can be combined with other approaches to personal growth and emotional healing. I have experience of working in a number of other ways. If you would like to explore how combining other ways of working with Focusing may be helpful for you I would be happy to do this talk with you about this

Relaxation and Stress Management

I can offer a Relaxation and Stress Management programme either one to one basis or for a small group.

This can be helpful in understanding the body's physiological response to stressful situations and the fight/flight/freeze response and help learn technicques to control that response.

Empathic listening,which is at the heart of Focusing has a role to play in activating the body's parasympathtic nervous system. This is the system that calms the body and reduces the stress response. It appears that the effect of the sound of an empathic response directly stimulates a calming response in the brain.

Coaching

Coaching is a way of working which explores the goals or perhaps changes that someone wishes to set or make for themselves. For example perhaps to learn a new skill or takelife in a new direction.

Having identified the end result that is wanted, coaching works to establish the steps needed to make that possible and how to approach those steps.

Focusing can be helpful in this approach to gain a sense of the rightness of the way forward

Counselling

Training

I also am a qualified Counsellor/Therapist. I trained initially in a Humanistic Person Centred Approach.

For me Focusing and the Person Centred Approach (PCA) share many ideas which are complimentary. They are both centred in empathic listening and a belief in allowing an unfolding rather than forcing a process. The PCA through the concept of the Actualising tendency and Focusing through the idea of Life Forward Energy.

I was interested to read in an article written by Gene Gendlin in 1984 the idea that in Focusing we are giving the Core Conditions, which are at the heart of the relationship between counsellor and client in the PCA and the agent of change, to our Felt Sense.

I have also trained in other therapy approaches, however I am not currently offering counselling sessions.

I offer the BFA Focusing Skills Certificate programme and can deliver training events in a range of personal development topics, including, relaxation and stress management, counselling skills, communications skills, assertiveness and a number of areas of business and management approaches.

I would be pleased to talk to groups about Focusing and offer demonstrations of Focusing.

My Areas of Experience

I worked as a Manager and Trainer within the public sector for over 30 years
I have extensive experience in coaching and mentoring and a wide knowledge of management theory and practice.
I have over 30 years experience as a trainer, delivering a broad range of training programmes including management, personal development, organisational change and communications learning.
I trained as a counsellor and worked within the NHS and Voluntary Sector as a Therapist for over 10 years
I taught Adult Education Courses at a Further Education College. I have delivered courses in Stress Management and Relaxation, Personal Development, Assertiveness and Counselling Skills

My Qualifications in the field of Personal Development

Certificate in Teaching Stress Management and Relaxation - Relaxation for Living Institute: January 1994
Certificate in Training Education - Leeds Metropolitan University : March 1995
Diploma In Humanistic Counselling - Awarding Body Warwick University: June 1999
Advanced Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Approaches for Person Centred Therapists: Warwick University : December 2007
(I held BACP Accreditation 2003 - 2015)
British Focusing Association (BFA) Skills Certificate : June 2015
BFA Focusing Practitioner : May 2017
BFA Focusing Trainer : June 2018