Somatic Therapy - Focusing

What is somatic therapy?

Somatic therapy is a holistic approach to healing that focuses on the connection between the body and mind. It recognizes that emotional experiences can be stored in the body, leading to tension, pain, or other physical symptoms. Through a variety of techniques, somatic therapy helps individuals release stored trauma, manage stress, and improve overall well-being.

Traditional talk therapies engage only the mind, not the body, but in somatic therapy, the body is the starting point to achieve healing.

There are several modalities of somatic therapy. Focusing is one of them.

Focusing: an evidence based somatic therapy

Focusing comes from the pioneering work of philosopher and psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin at the University of Chicago, where he collaborated with Carl Rogers. Gendlin studied why some clients improved in therapy while others did not.

He found that successful clients were regularly checking inside themselves for a whole bodily felt sense of their situation. Gendlin then developed a 6-step process he called Focusing to teach this skill to others.

Here is a free resource you can download with Gendlin’s 6 steps to Focusing.

Eugene Gendlin's 6 steps to Focusing by Isabel Alfonso

What is focusing?

Focusing is the process of checking deep within ourselves for a bodily felt sense of an issue and allowing the felt sense to unfold and guide us towards the next best step. Because the insight that comes from the felt sense “feels right,” the body releases some tension.

How does it work?

The resolution of problems usually happens in small steps of contacting the felt sense, waiting for it to bring something new to our situation, and feeling a little release of tension. Therapeutic change feels good in the body, even if the issue we are dealing with is really painful.

Who could benefit from Focusing?

Anyone could benefit from learning Focusing. Focusing is a skill that once learned, you can use for any aspect of your life, from reducing distress to making decisions or thinking creatively at work. You don’t need to have a disorder to benefit from the clarity and groundedness that it brings.

In therapy, Focusing can be combined with other therapeutic techniques to promote healing at a bodily level. Focusing can be used for a wide range of conditions and can be particularly helpful when feeling stuck, for decision-making, and for healing trauma, because of its gentle nature.

I am psychologist and a certified Focusing-Oriented Therapist and Trainer. I am also a member of the International Focusing Institute.