Introduction to Focusing & Focusing Skills Certificate (booking form scroll down)
Introduction to Focusing weekend - 10am-5pm: 7th & 8th June 2025 - on Zoom (£160)
Introduction to Focusing weekday - Thursdays 10am-1pm: 18th Sep, 25th Sep, 2nd Oct, 9th Oct 2025 - Zoom (£160)
BFA Focusing Skills Certificate continues Thursdays 10am-1pm: 16th Oct to 19th March (see below for full details)
Workshops are experiential and usually open to no more than six-eight attendees - book early to ensure your place!
"A stunningly good workshop - thank you so much. I'm recommending it to people already"
“Inspirational workshop. It is good to be stopped in my track and to re-think, not only my practice with clients, but also my personal way of being”
Introduction to Focusing
Are you looking for a way to slow down and look after yourself?
Do you want to listen to yourself more?
Do you value the opportunity to connect with others?
Learning Focusing will support you to treasure the richness of your inner life and treat yourself with more kindness. A practice of Focusing also allows us to become more fascinated by the world and deepen our relationships with others, whether professionally or personally. I have been teaching The Introduction to Focusing and Focusing Skills Certificate for the last eight years and am passionate about cultivating a Focusing a way of being in the world.
Focusing is a natural process of listening in to what is going on inside you, and this process was named and broken down into steps by Eugene Gendlin. We can listen in not only to our thoughts and emotions but to what we feel in the body… you might notice some vague overall feeling of how you are right now or how you feel about a particular issue in your life – your felt sense of it. This vague overall feel somehow captures more than only the thoughts, emotions, or body sensations alone.
Notice how, when you’re trying to work out what’s bothering you, you might run through some possibilities in your mind… sometimes something let’s you know “that’s it, that’s what’s really bothering me”. This is the body – your whole living system – letting you know. We are often too busy and rushed in life to pay attention, or we are used to just thinking through issues with our minds, not consulting our wider self. But if we do slow down and listen in, we will notice there is a wealth of information waiting to be shown to us about how we feel and what we need. We can develop more self compassion through this process of listening in, more ability to be with ourselves and be patient with ourselves.
Integral to the Focusing process is listening. As you learn to be a Focusing Listener or Companion, through learning to listen to another fully you are also learning to listen to yourself. As you gain experience of how to guide yourself through the Focusing process you will notice how your inner feelings shift and change as a result of finding a way to symbolise them just as they are. When we can be with what is there and really welcome it, this is what allows life to flow forward freely. Of course, listening inside and welcoming all that’s there isn’t always easy, and so the Focusing Skills Certificate goes deeper and broader into experiencing the Focusing process, how to reap the benefits and how to tackle the sticking points.
In each workshop we have time together in a group and Focusing time in pairs or threes. The classes are highly experiential and we create a safe space for people to share and be yourselves. The Intro to Focusing will equip you with what you need to form a Focusing-Listening partnership and if you work in a caring profession you may take what you learn into your way of being in those relationships. Learning Focusing is a great investment as it is a practice you can draw on to support you throughout your life. I love meeting people who are interested in Focusing and I love sharing this beautiful practice. Do get in touch if you have any questions.
“Felt very organised, gently yet solidly held, clear expertise + really pleasant delivery and pace. Loved it!”
"I’ve been in many well facilitated groups over the years and this one was particularly warm and inviting"
TO BOOK ON TO THE INTRO COURSE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW - WHY NOT READ ON FOR MORE ABOUT THE WHOLE FOCUSING SKILLS CERTIFICATE COURSE?
Introduction to Focusing weekend - 10am-5pm: 7th & 8th June 2025 - on Zoom (£160)
Introduction to Focusing weekday - Thursdays 10am-1pm: 18th Sep, 25th Sep, 2nd Oct, 9th Oct 2025 - Zoom (£160)
BFA Focusing Skills Certificate continues Thursdays 10am-1pm: 16th Oct to 19th March (see below for full details)
Workshops are experiential and usually open to no more than six-eight attendees - book early to ensure your place!
"A stunningly good workshop - thank you so much. I'm recommending it to people already"
“Inspirational workshop. It is good to be stopped in my track and to re-think, not only my practice with clients, but also my personal way of being”
Introduction to Focusing
Are you looking for a way to slow down and look after yourself?
Do you want to listen to yourself more?
Do you value the opportunity to connect with others?
Learning Focusing will support you to treasure the richness of your inner life and treat yourself with more kindness. A practice of Focusing also allows us to become more fascinated by the world and deepen our relationships with others, whether professionally or personally. I have been teaching The Introduction to Focusing and Focusing Skills Certificate for the last eight years and am passionate about cultivating a Focusing a way of being in the world.
Focusing is a natural process of listening in to what is going on inside you, and this process was named and broken down into steps by Eugene Gendlin. We can listen in not only to our thoughts and emotions but to what we feel in the body… you might notice some vague overall feeling of how you are right now or how you feel about a particular issue in your life – your felt sense of it. This vague overall feel somehow captures more than only the thoughts, emotions, or body sensations alone.
Notice how, when you’re trying to work out what’s bothering you, you might run through some possibilities in your mind… sometimes something let’s you know “that’s it, that’s what’s really bothering me”. This is the body – your whole living system – letting you know. We are often too busy and rushed in life to pay attention, or we are used to just thinking through issues with our minds, not consulting our wider self. But if we do slow down and listen in, we will notice there is a wealth of information waiting to be shown to us about how we feel and what we need. We can develop more self compassion through this process of listening in, more ability to be with ourselves and be patient with ourselves.
Integral to the Focusing process is listening. As you learn to be a Focusing Listener or Companion, through learning to listen to another fully you are also learning to listen to yourself. As you gain experience of how to guide yourself through the Focusing process you will notice how your inner feelings shift and change as a result of finding a way to symbolise them just as they are. When we can be with what is there and really welcome it, this is what allows life to flow forward freely. Of course, listening inside and welcoming all that’s there isn’t always easy, and so the Focusing Skills Certificate goes deeper and broader into experiencing the Focusing process, how to reap the benefits and how to tackle the sticking points.
In each workshop we have time together in a group and Focusing time in pairs or threes. The classes are highly experiential and we create a safe space for people to share and be yourselves. The Intro to Focusing will equip you with what you need to form a Focusing-Listening partnership and if you work in a caring profession you may take what you learn into your way of being in those relationships. Learning Focusing is a great investment as it is a practice you can draw on to support you throughout your life. I love meeting people who are interested in Focusing and I love sharing this beautiful practice. Do get in touch if you have any questions.
“Felt very organised, gently yet solidly held, clear expertise + really pleasant delivery and pace. Loved it!”
"I’ve been in many well facilitated groups over the years and this one was particularly warm and inviting"
TO BOOK ON TO THE INTRO COURSE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW - WHY NOT READ ON FOR MORE ABOUT THE WHOLE FOCUSING SKILLS CERTIFICATE COURSE?
Introduction to Focusing – modules one and two
In this Introductory course you will learn about how Focusing was discovered and gain understanding of what we call the felt sense. You will gradually increase your understanding of how this plays a part in our lives and how to pay attention inside in a Focusing way, both to yourself and to others. Through demos, experiential practices and Focusing-Listening partnership exchanges you will experience what can happen when we turn towards our embodied experience without judgement. You will also learn a practice that Gendlin called 'Clearing a Space' which can be helpful for supporting yourself if you are overwhelmed. We look at the Focusing attitude, which underpins the whole practice and discuss how you can work with what comes up in your process even if you find that not much seems to come up, or too much seems to come up!
Weekend - 10am-5pm: 7th & 8th June 2025
Weekday - Thursdays 10am-1pm: 18th Sep, 25th Sep, 2nd Oct, 9th Oct 2025
When you have done modules one and two you can enter a Focusing-Listening partnership.
Modules one and two also allow you to go on to do the whole Focusing Skills Certificate
“Well organised course, supportive group members and a comfortable group size”
Presence, Blocks and the Inner Relationship - modules three and four
Focusing is about meeting what's inside from a place of being present with our experience. If we can cultivate this attitude of being with our inner feelings and parts then things become more manageable and we are more able to learn from what's inside of us. In these modules we learn how to become more present and to relate to the parts and aspects of our experience from this place of presence. We also look at what gets in the way of the Focusing process with particular attention to parts that may leave us feeling criticised, doubted or judged (Gendlin called this the Inner Critic). Many, if not all of us, have experience of feeling a critical part or voice and its impact on us. We look at this area in depth in terms of how to apply a Focusing quality of attention even to parts which seem destructive or critical.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 16th Oct, 23rd Oct, 6th Nov, 13th Nov 2025
“Very satisfying workshop. Knowledgeable, competent and calm facilitator. Will take much away to use both in work and for self”
Listening, Language and the Body - modules five and six
How we feel about the body generally and our relationship with our own body may affect our Focusing process and these modules give space to explore this. We also delve deeper into the realm of Focusing partnerships: This beautiful form of human connection can be enhanced by paying wider attention to our whole embodied communication, listening both to the words and beyond the words. We look at the potential for bringing more of yourself into your Listening practice and there is opportunity to experiment with Focusing invitations - prompts that may support the Focuser's process. How we use language both towards ourselves and when we are in the companioning role can be very influential, so we look at how certain language may be facilitative of the process. We also explore how we can allow the body to show us how it wants to be, what support it can offer us and the potential for utilising the wider space to support us.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 20th Nov, 27th Nov, 8th Jan, 15th Jan
“Suzi is a great teacher, clear, explanative, helpful”
Dreaming and Intuition - modules seven and eight
The Focusing process is amazingly well suited for exploring dreams and there are some specific ways we can explore dreams using Focusing that can also be applied to exploring other life issues as well. In these modules we let go of pre-existing theories of dream interpretation and fixed symbols and open to listen to our embodied sense of our dreams. Maybe the body has something different, or something more to let us know. We draw on Gendlin's approaches to dreams from his book 'Let your body interpret your dreams', including his 'dream questions' and working with opposites. Focusing with dreams gives an opportunity to explore embodying the feeling of different characters from within our dreams or noticing how the feel of them may signify something in us. We look at how our dreams can show us what we may be needing and whether cultivating a more dreamlike space in our waking lives may serve us. We can also explore Focusing with some piece of 'stimuli' such as a poem or picture to see what may further unlock our connection with our intuitive realm and what is meaningful to us.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 22nd Jan, 29th Jan, 5th Feb, 12th Feb
“Pace was really good, not too much info, clearly explained and lots of practical demos and experiences”
Creativity and Values into Action - modules nine and ten
The final modules give us an opportunity to explore areas for which I have particular enthusiasm and which, to me, seem inextricably linked with our humanness. Focusing is intrinsically relational - relating to ourselves, relating to each other. How might the process unfold if we allow ourselves to be more aware of our shared humanness, how much do we feel open to connection and can we respect the parts of us that want to keep us safe. We are invited to notice how our Focusing experience is affected by our connection with our Listener/Companion, including any difference or similarity between us. How might Focusing support our connection with our values or any spiritual sense we may have. As we come to the end of the Skills Certificate course there is the opportunity to sense into how our body may want us to live forward and what may be in the way of this. We also have a chance to utilise Focusing to help us connect with a sense of play or creativity.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 26th Feb, 5th Mar, 12th Mar, 19th Mar
On completion of the ten modules you receive the British Focusing Association Focusing Skills Certificate.
If you want to continue your journey with Focusing after this you might consider the Focusing Practitioner Programme.
"Suzi, I really loved the tranquil and spacious atmosphere you created within the online space. The way you gently and carefully attended to what everyone was saying and allowed generous time for check in, discussion and paired work really set the tone for the slowing down and noticing in our Focusing"
All workshops are experiential and involve plenty of opportunity to practice Focusing!
A note on dates: I run the Intro three times a year and then the following workshops in the Skills Certificate follow on after the September Intro. Workshops after the Intro do not necessarily need to be done in order and if you have completed an Intro workshop with another teacher you may book on to workshops in my Skills Certificate course. I have run the Skills Certificate on weekends since 2017 and am likely to run the course on weekends again in 2027.
Intro modules 1 & 2: £160
Modules 3&4, 5&6, 7&8, 9&10: £160 per pair of workshops.
Discount! Book modules 3-10 all together for £600.
FOR INFORMATION AND TO BOOK: please contact me via the webform above.
In this Introductory course you will learn about how Focusing was discovered and gain understanding of what we call the felt sense. You will gradually increase your understanding of how this plays a part in our lives and how to pay attention inside in a Focusing way, both to yourself and to others. Through demos, experiential practices and Focusing-Listening partnership exchanges you will experience what can happen when we turn towards our embodied experience without judgement. You will also learn a practice that Gendlin called 'Clearing a Space' which can be helpful for supporting yourself if you are overwhelmed. We look at the Focusing attitude, which underpins the whole practice and discuss how you can work with what comes up in your process even if you find that not much seems to come up, or too much seems to come up!
Weekend - 10am-5pm: 7th & 8th June 2025
Weekday - Thursdays 10am-1pm: 18th Sep, 25th Sep, 2nd Oct, 9th Oct 2025
When you have done modules one and two you can enter a Focusing-Listening partnership.
Modules one and two also allow you to go on to do the whole Focusing Skills Certificate
“Well organised course, supportive group members and a comfortable group size”
Presence, Blocks and the Inner Relationship - modules three and four
Focusing is about meeting what's inside from a place of being present with our experience. If we can cultivate this attitude of being with our inner feelings and parts then things become more manageable and we are more able to learn from what's inside of us. In these modules we learn how to become more present and to relate to the parts and aspects of our experience from this place of presence. We also look at what gets in the way of the Focusing process with particular attention to parts that may leave us feeling criticised, doubted or judged (Gendlin called this the Inner Critic). Many, if not all of us, have experience of feeling a critical part or voice and its impact on us. We look at this area in depth in terms of how to apply a Focusing quality of attention even to parts which seem destructive or critical.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 16th Oct, 23rd Oct, 6th Nov, 13th Nov 2025
“Very satisfying workshop. Knowledgeable, competent and calm facilitator. Will take much away to use both in work and for self”
Listening, Language and the Body - modules five and six
How we feel about the body generally and our relationship with our own body may affect our Focusing process and these modules give space to explore this. We also delve deeper into the realm of Focusing partnerships: This beautiful form of human connection can be enhanced by paying wider attention to our whole embodied communication, listening both to the words and beyond the words. We look at the potential for bringing more of yourself into your Listening practice and there is opportunity to experiment with Focusing invitations - prompts that may support the Focuser's process. How we use language both towards ourselves and when we are in the companioning role can be very influential, so we look at how certain language may be facilitative of the process. We also explore how we can allow the body to show us how it wants to be, what support it can offer us and the potential for utilising the wider space to support us.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 20th Nov, 27th Nov, 8th Jan, 15th Jan
“Suzi is a great teacher, clear, explanative, helpful”
Dreaming and Intuition - modules seven and eight
The Focusing process is amazingly well suited for exploring dreams and there are some specific ways we can explore dreams using Focusing that can also be applied to exploring other life issues as well. In these modules we let go of pre-existing theories of dream interpretation and fixed symbols and open to listen to our embodied sense of our dreams. Maybe the body has something different, or something more to let us know. We draw on Gendlin's approaches to dreams from his book 'Let your body interpret your dreams', including his 'dream questions' and working with opposites. Focusing with dreams gives an opportunity to explore embodying the feeling of different characters from within our dreams or noticing how the feel of them may signify something in us. We look at how our dreams can show us what we may be needing and whether cultivating a more dreamlike space in our waking lives may serve us. We can also explore Focusing with some piece of 'stimuli' such as a poem or picture to see what may further unlock our connection with our intuitive realm and what is meaningful to us.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 22nd Jan, 29th Jan, 5th Feb, 12th Feb
“Pace was really good, not too much info, clearly explained and lots of practical demos and experiences”
Creativity and Values into Action - modules nine and ten
The final modules give us an opportunity to explore areas for which I have particular enthusiasm and which, to me, seem inextricably linked with our humanness. Focusing is intrinsically relational - relating to ourselves, relating to each other. How might the process unfold if we allow ourselves to be more aware of our shared humanness, how much do we feel open to connection and can we respect the parts of us that want to keep us safe. We are invited to notice how our Focusing experience is affected by our connection with our Listener/Companion, including any difference or similarity between us. How might Focusing support our connection with our values or any spiritual sense we may have. As we come to the end of the Skills Certificate course there is the opportunity to sense into how our body may want us to live forward and what may be in the way of this. We also have a chance to utilise Focusing to help us connect with a sense of play or creativity.
Thursdays 10am 1pm: 26th Feb, 5th Mar, 12th Mar, 19th Mar
On completion of the ten modules you receive the British Focusing Association Focusing Skills Certificate.
If you want to continue your journey with Focusing after this you might consider the Focusing Practitioner Programme.
"Suzi, I really loved the tranquil and spacious atmosphere you created within the online space. The way you gently and carefully attended to what everyone was saying and allowed generous time for check in, discussion and paired work really set the tone for the slowing down and noticing in our Focusing"
All workshops are experiential and involve plenty of opportunity to practice Focusing!
A note on dates: I run the Intro three times a year and then the following workshops in the Skills Certificate follow on after the September Intro. Workshops after the Intro do not necessarily need to be done in order and if you have completed an Intro workshop with another teacher you may book on to workshops in my Skills Certificate course. I have run the Skills Certificate on weekends since 2017 and am likely to run the course on weekends again in 2027.
Intro modules 1 & 2: £160
Modules 3&4, 5&6, 7&8, 9&10: £160 per pair of workshops.
Discount! Book modules 3-10 all together for £600.
FOR INFORMATION AND TO BOOK: please contact me via the webform above.
What is Focusing?
Focusing is a process which can help you manage difficult feelings, learn how you really feel about things and what are the right next steps for you. This is a process we can encourage in counselling sessions, or that you can learn and make use of in one to one guided Focusing sessions.
If we slow down we can connect with our body, developing more of a trusting relationship with it, so it can let us know what we need. Some people find focusing a great way to deepen their connection with the body. For others, you may not identify so strongly with the body, but you may have a sense of an all-around-knowing when something feels more right or more wrong for you. Even if this is a brief and fleeting feeling, Focusing can help to develop your ability to have such moments and cultivate them so that they last longer and you get more from them.
You might be struggling to deal with too much and Focusing is also a very useful tool for dealing with overwhelm, anxiety and other difficult emotions. Focusing can help you to be with your feelings in a way that means you can deal with them, rather than ending up so immersed that it feels unbearable and you can’t act on your situation. Things may feel so difficult that you try to ignore them or push them away. You may find that you cycle between pushing it away, then getting overwhelmed, then trying to push it away again. Focusing can help you develop a way of being with feelings in a way that feels safe and manageable. This means that you have the ability to work on whatever the issue is that is making you feel overwhelmed. You can develop your inner resources by learning some Focusing skills either as part of your counselling, or in a number of guided Focusing sessions.
The process of Focusing was discovered as part of some research by Eugene Gendlin into what made therapy ‘successful’. Gendlin found that clients who got most out of therapy had moments when they slowed down and grasped for words to describe what they were experiencing. In Focusing we help you to develop this ability to slow down, sense freshly in the moment, the whole feeling of what is going on underneath what you are speaking about. This can be a powerful and different way to connect with your feelings, which can mean moving through things that have felt stuck or where no answers have seemed apparent.
Focusing is ultimately a process which values and trusts all of you, in which even the most difficult and unpleasant bits of us have something to offer, and can in fact be the biggest clues to what we need in our lives. With Focusing you can connect with the felt meanings that different issues have for you, gaining a sense of clarity in an environment where you and your experience are valued and supported. Focusing not only helps your ability to more intuitively know what is right for you but can also help you improve your relationship with yourself.
One to one Focusing sessions
In order to learn the process of Focusing you may book a number of one to one sessions, which are a combination of discussion and guided Focusing. The first session is usually an hour and half, with subsequent sessions lasting 50 minutes.
You may also be interested in booking guided sessions as a refresher if you haven’t done Focusing for a while or for support with exploring a particular issue. In a guided session we can look at throwing more light on a specific life issues, decisions you want to make, explore the significance of particular dreams or look at how focusing can help you with self care.
Find out more about Focusing
Find out more about Focusing at the British Focusing Association web page http://www.focusing.org.uk/
The Focusing Institute in the US has a huge amount of information about Focusing and its different applications across the world http://www.focusing.org/
The Gendlin online library contains a large number of freely available articles by Gendlin, the founder of Focusing http://www.focusing.org/gendlin/gol_intro.asp
Anne Weiser Cornell is another leading teacher of Focusing in the States who writes very accessibly and offer free resources on her website http://focusingresources.com/
Focusing is a process which can help you manage difficult feelings, learn how you really feel about things and what are the right next steps for you. This is a process we can encourage in counselling sessions, or that you can learn and make use of in one to one guided Focusing sessions.
If we slow down we can connect with our body, developing more of a trusting relationship with it, so it can let us know what we need. Some people find focusing a great way to deepen their connection with the body. For others, you may not identify so strongly with the body, but you may have a sense of an all-around-knowing when something feels more right or more wrong for you. Even if this is a brief and fleeting feeling, Focusing can help to develop your ability to have such moments and cultivate them so that they last longer and you get more from them.
You might be struggling to deal with too much and Focusing is also a very useful tool for dealing with overwhelm, anxiety and other difficult emotions. Focusing can help you to be with your feelings in a way that means you can deal with them, rather than ending up so immersed that it feels unbearable and you can’t act on your situation. Things may feel so difficult that you try to ignore them or push them away. You may find that you cycle between pushing it away, then getting overwhelmed, then trying to push it away again. Focusing can help you develop a way of being with feelings in a way that feels safe and manageable. This means that you have the ability to work on whatever the issue is that is making you feel overwhelmed. You can develop your inner resources by learning some Focusing skills either as part of your counselling, or in a number of guided Focusing sessions.
The process of Focusing was discovered as part of some research by Eugene Gendlin into what made therapy ‘successful’. Gendlin found that clients who got most out of therapy had moments when they slowed down and grasped for words to describe what they were experiencing. In Focusing we help you to develop this ability to slow down, sense freshly in the moment, the whole feeling of what is going on underneath what you are speaking about. This can be a powerful and different way to connect with your feelings, which can mean moving through things that have felt stuck or where no answers have seemed apparent.
Focusing is ultimately a process which values and trusts all of you, in which even the most difficult and unpleasant bits of us have something to offer, and can in fact be the biggest clues to what we need in our lives. With Focusing you can connect with the felt meanings that different issues have for you, gaining a sense of clarity in an environment where you and your experience are valued and supported. Focusing not only helps your ability to more intuitively know what is right for you but can also help you improve your relationship with yourself.
One to one Focusing sessions
In order to learn the process of Focusing you may book a number of one to one sessions, which are a combination of discussion and guided Focusing. The first session is usually an hour and half, with subsequent sessions lasting 50 minutes.
You may also be interested in booking guided sessions as a refresher if you haven’t done Focusing for a while or for support with exploring a particular issue. In a guided session we can look at throwing more light on a specific life issues, decisions you want to make, explore the significance of particular dreams or look at how focusing can help you with self care.
Find out more about Focusing
Find out more about Focusing at the British Focusing Association web page http://www.focusing.org.uk/
The Focusing Institute in the US has a huge amount of information about Focusing and its different applications across the world http://www.focusing.org/
The Gendlin online library contains a large number of freely available articles by Gendlin, the founder of Focusing http://www.focusing.org/gendlin/gol_intro.asp
Anne Weiser Cornell is another leading teacher of Focusing in the States who writes very accessibly and offer free resources on her website http://focusingresources.com/
