A Focusing Approach to Stuck Ways of Being: Untangling Entanglements
Drawing on the work of philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the Focusing-oriented practice developed by Eugene Gendlin, this in-person 2-day workshop explores how our histories are lived through the body and how embodied patterns of experience can shape meaning, emotion, relationship and action. We'll particularly examine the phenomenon of “tangles” —stuck or conflicting embodied processes that can leave people feeling divided, frozen or unable to move forward despite insight or intention. Integrating existential-phenomenological inquiry with the Untangling approach developed by Barbara McGavin and Ann Weiser Cornell, Alison Strasser and Jane Quayle will guide you through experiential exercises, therapeutic inquiry, reflection and discussion. You'll explore how experience becomes sedimented over time, how embodied stuck-ness develops and how a compassionate, non-fixing therapeutic stance can help create the conditions for meaningful change. Over two reflective and highly experiential days, you will gain a richer appreciation of embodied experience, an understanding of why insight alone often fails to bring about change and practical ways of accompanying clients through processes of stuck-ness and inner conflict.
What You’ll Walk Away With
An experiential awareness of sedimentation and embodied experience
An appreciation of tangles and entanglements as lived embodied patterns
An experiential understanding of why insight alone often does not produce change
An enhanced ability to work with stuckness, conflict and repetitive processes
Presenter/s:
Dr Alison Strasser - DProf (Psychotherapy & Counselling), MA, BA Hons
Jane Quayle - BCHC, Certifying Coordinator, The International Focusing Institute, Member of the ACA College of Supervisors, Clinical Member
Disclaimer:
The content of this endorsed CPD course is provided by the external course provider. Attendees are encouraged to approach the material with an open mind and consider diverse perspectives, particularly those from lived experiences related to the topics discussed. For feedback regarding the course, please contact the course provider directly.