Experiential Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy (FOT for short) means that I work with my clients to help them find their own way

in life and find solutions to their problems by helping them develop their capacity for inner discovery, dwelling instead of fleeing, and reaching meaningful action. Inner attending, or the ability to discover yourself inside, is the main part of successful psychotherapy. Above all else, finding and then developing this single capacity is the most significant indicator of positive and lasting change for those in psychotherapy; dwelling and meaningful action flow from inner attending. I have more on the research behind this statement below. Let me make some general comments and observations about my way of psychotherapy and how you might find it beneficial.

What you can expect: You will be treated with respect as a whole and competent person. You will not be told how you should behave or who you should be. You will be listened to so that you experience being exactly understood.

Generally speaking...

There are many, many forms of psychotherapy and kinds of psychotherapists. You might ask yourself what kind of therapist fits me? You probably can’t know this until you meet a few therapists. Sensing that intangible link with, or feel for, the person of the therapist is key. To give you some sense of whom I am and the kind of work I do, I have written a few paragraphs below. Of course, I can’t put down everything; that would be impossible, and not necessary. Instead, let me focus on some of the essential aspects of how I see psychotherapy and what you will find if we should choose to work together.

What is psychotherapy and should I consider it for me now in my life?

Not everyone needs psychotherapy. I know this sounds like an odd way to begin describing my self to you. I’m a firm believer that therapy is a specialized relationship. Unlike any other relationship in our lives, psychotherapy is one way (among others) to improve our relationship with our loved ones, our world, and ourselves. Not everyone requires such a specialized relationship. Most people are doing just fine and what they really need is to talk to friends and their significant loved ones.

One of the main reasons for confusion about the role of psychotherapy is the evolution of psychological concepts into everyday speech. Today it is common to see almost every activity in psychological terms. We speak with terms borrowed from psychology in our everyday language. I often joke to my students about how common it is to use such terms like neurotic or addictive, or of having issues even while they are waiting for their lattes. Unfortunately, this can numb us to the level of pain we or our friends might be feeling and lead some who actually could benefit from psychotherapy to conclude their pain is not all that bad.

Consider these questions: Am I no longer living a fulfilling, satisfying life? Do my own relationships suffer because of my own style of living? Do I experience more than an acceptable level of psychological pain such that my work and love life are now suffering as well?

If this hits the mark for you, then you may want to consider seeking psychotherapy.

Does psychotherapy really work?

The short answer is yes it does, but not in the way most of us think. Experiential focusing-oriented psychotherapy was developed from one of the largest research projects ever undertaken on what makes for successful therapy. Two American psychologists of whom you may have heard undertook the research during the late 1950’s and into the 1960’s: Carl Rogers and Eugene Gendlin.

Carl Rogers is the founder of Client-Centered Psychotherapy, now called the Person-Centered Approach to Psychotherapy.

Eugene Gendlin, at first a student of Rogers while they were both at the University of Chicago, has become one of the most celebrated philosophers and psychologists of our time and developed the Focusing method mentioned elsewhere in this site.

Rogers and Gendlin began their research into what makes psychotherapy work at the University of Chicago and later finished that work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The project, called the Wisconsin Project, found that it wasn’t so much the therapist’s attitudes, therapeutic orientation, or even their specific skills that correlated most highly with successful therapy. Almost counter-intuitively, it was found that successful psychological change resulted from the client’s own ability for inner attending and their making actions from this inner awareness.

Research on the key of successful psychotherapy.

Results from the Wisconsin Project showed that the most successful in psychotherapy could be identified in the first therapy session. What distinguished successful clients was seen in their groping for words, as they took time to find just the right words for what they meant, and as they stayed with their at-first vague, physically felt sense of what was the matter or unclear before concluding or doing anything. Contrary to what Rogers posited, it was not the therapists own attitudes or values that made the difference but the clients own ability to find, stay with, then use their physically felt sense of their situation.

Gendlin later developed a process that enabled anyone to locate, stay with, and use this inner attending he called the felt-sense. Focusing is his six-step process that has been taught worldwide to over a million people in 30 countries and is the basis of my work (http://www.focusing.org).

Is this approach right for you?

You are the final judge of this question. I hope I have given you a sense of what my approach is all about and the research on which it is based. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or about my fees.