The healing power of listening and the transformative language – Focusing

More and more the method of Focusing is nourishing my way of facilitating spaces dedicated to reconnection with self, others and nature/Life, through social arts..

Recently, I offered a workshop about burn out and compassion fatigue in Rome to psychotherapists, combining the gentleness of self-empathy and the radical acceptance of feelings from Focusing, and the power of making visible and the wisdom of embodiment from Social Presencing Theatre and Rainbow of Desire (Theatre of the Oppressed). It was a process of deep listening, resonating sharing and surprising shift in awareness.

We were inspired by Vikky Reynolds reflections on burn out: “The problem of burnout is not in our heads and hearts, but in the real world where there is a lack of justice. The people I work alongside do not lead me to burn out or hurt me, rather they transform me, stimulate me, and inspire me. What damages me are the injustices… suffered by my clients and my frustrating inability to personally change the unjust social structures they encounter and live in” (Reynolds, 2009). In some way, for me, it was about bringing back the feminist phrase from the seventies: “The personal is political” in the context of burnout.

Next autumn-winter, I would offer a course of Focusing in collaboration with my friend and colleague Roberta Colombano: “The healing power of listening and the transformative language“.
It is a 36-hour Focusing course aimed at professionals whose work focuses on relationships and care
(psychologists, counselors, social workers, educators, teachers, civil and cultural mediators, etc.).

Collaboration with Roberta is very nourishing and stimulating,
we are both teachers certified by The International Focusing Institute of New York, and we learned to focus with different teachers (Italian and foreign), and we combine Focusing with the work of coach (Roberta) and facilitator (me), therefore we want to share the many potentials we feel.

If you are a social artist, a facilitator, a psychologist, an educator or social worker, you might feel you would like to refine those soft skills that are fundamental to foster an attitude of empathy and self-empathy, greater awareness of oneself and others, and the ability to actively listen; you would like to know a practice to be more in touch with what you feel or you are in touch with what you feel and you would like to learn how to manage these sensations without them taking over; you would like some space-time to take care of yourself, in order to prevent burn out, as your work requires you to be in continuous contact with people.

If so, I invite you to join us in our course “The healing power of listening and the transformative language”.