Focusing-Oriented Experiential Psychotherapy: How To Do It

Experiential Psychotherapy originated in Gendlin’s Philosopy of the Implicit. Some of its main concepts are bodily felt sense, fresh emergence of words from the felt sense, and carrying forward the implicit with small steps of change. Presented in this paper are many specific examples of what a therapist may say to the client to encourage the bodily felt sense. Dealing with three obstacles to forming a felt sense, intellectual speculation, drowning in emotions, and self-attacking are discussed. The philosophical concepts in the focusing-oriented school of therapy enable therapists to relate any psychological theory to the client’s ongoing experience, allowing therapists from any theoretical orientation to practice in a focusing-oriented way.