Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy

“Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy: Concepts, Research, and Application”. Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy was developed by philosopher and therapist, Dr. Eugene Gendlin. Focusing method for attending to experiential process. Gendlin and his colleagues discovered that success in therapy is highly correlated with the manner in which individuals related to internal experiences, called referencing behaviors. In this paper I, first, review the literature on Gendlin's approach and the research related to measures of clients' referencing behaviors. Second, I evaluates the application of Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy to clients suffering from symptoms of traumatization. Unpublished.

“Focusing and Trauma”. This article is proposal for research into the use of Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy with traumatized clients. The study will explore the degree to which client process variables are associated with positive therapeutic outcomes in traumatized clients and the overall efficacy of Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy in facilitating those outcomes. The study will compare Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy with Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy incorporating Clearing a Space as an intentional intervention. Unpublished.

“Focusing in Aid of Psychic Conversion”. One of my areas of interest is the relationship among psychology, philosophy and theology. Fr. Robert M. Doran, SJ of Marquette University is a prominent Catholic theologian and student of Fr. Bernard Lonergan, SJ. Doran started with Lonergan's great philosophical and theological works on human understanding and loving and extended his insights into the realm of psychology. Together they shared an interest in the influence of an individual's psychology (or psyche) on his or her philosophy and vice versa. An important area of common concern is the transformation or conversion of psychological living (what Doran refers to as psychic conversion). Eugene Gendlin developed Focusing in order to promote the same kind of personal transformation that Doran identifies as crucial to the development of other disciplines. Published in Symposium 21 (2014).

“The Psychology of Centering Prayer”. Centering Prayer was developed by Trappist monk, Fr. Thomas Keating. CP is a methodical way of employing modern psychological insights to support a life of contemplation. These insights are drawn primarily from the depth psychology of Freud, Jung, and Horney. Fr. Keating admits that psychology has since developed beyond the ideas of these founding figures. In this paper, I offer an updated perspective on the psychological aspects of CP by highlighting common features of CP and Eugene Gendlin's Focusing. Forthcoming in the Lonergan Review.