FOCUSING-ORIENTED RELATING in GROUP ENVIRONMENTS (FORGE)
2-Year International Training Program Overview
WHY THIS PROGRAM?
Although Focusing has greatly influenced individual therapy and inner work, the Focusing community has not yet fully articulated potential contributions to group life. This program is designed to do just that.
Since the pandemic, much of our connecting has taken place online. While there are undeniable losses in this virtual mode of relating, it has also provided vast opportunities for worldwide collaboration. This program responds to those opportunities.
Much of our Focusing teaching and facilitating around the world is done in groups, yet we as a community have very little if any training and support for group leadership. An international study program will not only fill this gap but will enable an expansion of what Gendlin called “crossings.” It will help group leaders to articulate and elaborate how Focusing ideas and skills can deepen and broaden many forms of group process.
What happens when we experience a group as a living organism, not just a collection of individuals? When people come together, something new begins to form—a living, evolving “Us” with its own atmosphere, rhythms, tensions, possibilities and implicit knowing. Focusing-Oriented Relating in Group Environments (FORGE) is an invitation to learn how to sense into and participate in that living process. We will pursue these goals through conceptual conversation and experiential group process.
