Metaphysics & Therapy

The following article is by Gregg Henriques (see bio below the article). Metaphysics is not a topic that comes up often in discussions about psychotherapy or scientific psychology. I think that is unfortunate because I think it is a concept psychologists and psychotherapists should be familiar with. Speaking for myself, even though I have long … Read more

Seeking FOTs to help with the development of a new, simplified Experiencing Scale.

leslie ellis

The following is a point of view written by Leslie Ellis.  Needed: Recorded focusing sessions of about 20 minutes, ideally with transcripts Dear fellow focusing therapists and professionals, I am part of a team that has been meeting for more than a year to develop a simplified version of the Experiencing Scale both for research … Read more

FOT concepts: Pointing to something

fot-pointing

The following is a point of view written (and drawn) by Catherine Flynn. My overall project is to illustrate the key concepts of focusing oriented therapy. So what are we actually doing as a ‘Focusing oriented therapist’ in the counselling room? One of the main themes involves being a kind of ‘experiencing detective’ and then … Read more

APA Lifetime Achievement Award for Gene Gendlin

Gene Gendlin

The Society for Humanistic Psychology, Division 32 of the American Psychological Association (APA) has unanimously voted to present Dr. Eugene Gendlin the 2020-2021 Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement, given to an individual in recognition of distinguished lifetime contributions to humanistic psychology. The award will be given at an online event on Sunday, June 6, 2021. The … Read more

David Allen: An integrative model to understand self-destructiveness

The following article is by David Allen (see bio below the article). My integrative model for understanding self-destructiveness looks at the nature of the relationship between the self and the system or collective; the core ideas are described below. The treatment model involves coaching clients to get past their parents’ formidable defenses to discuss and … Read more

Jack Ferrari: About technique in psychotherapy

The following article is by Jack Ferrari (see bio below the article). I think a problem arises when we consider activities like DBT or EMDR as “techniques.” I had my gall bladder out a number of years ago, and the surgeon utilized laparoscopic surgery. That is a technique, a learned, skilled action, in the service … Read more

The experiential revolution in psychotherapy

The following article, by Giancarlo Dimaggio, was originally published in the SEPI newsletter, “The Integrative Therapist”, Issue 6(4). Times are changing in the world of psychotherapy. Over the last 15 years, empirically supported treatments are more and more including experiential practices, which in the past were mostly confined to non-empirically supported orientations. If you had … Read more

Four reasons to work with dreams

leslie ellis

The following is an excerpt from the first chapter of Leslie Ellis’s book which outlines some of the main reasons modern clinicians should consider working with dreams.  Why should therapists in clinical practice have a practical understanding of how to work with clients’ dreams? There are many good reasons, now more well-understood than ever, that … Read more

What we do in therapy

The following is a point of view written by Serge Prengel.  What is it that we aim to achieve in therapy? Often, but not always, the desired outcome is lasting sustainable change. For the purpose of this article, I will be assuming that this is the desired outcome. How do we accomplish that? I see … Read more

What we mean by integration

Our approach is integrative. The quality of integration manifests at several levels. Healing as the client’s ability to integrate experience: Much of the work we do in therapy has to do with dealing with the effects of experiences that are beyond our clients’ capacity to integrate. With this approach, the integration of experience is not … Read more