No, there are no previous educational requirements. However, classes are taught in English, and so a good grasp of this language is essential.

To begin training with me, you will have to register as a Trainee by paying the annual Trainee membership fee with The International Focusing Institute (see focusing.org/course/membership).

The second thing to do to start training is register for the Focusing for Beginners course. It is also possible to being with the 4-week version.

It is best to set up a time to discuss with Annette prior to signing up. This is an opportunity to make sure the program is a good fit for your journey and plan your studies.

I am shifting to a cohort model. The next one begins Tuesday, September 12. Courses will be Tuesdays, from 12:30-2:30 pm Eastern time for this cohort. Dates for the first few courses are on this page above.

In the past, there was a rolling start to the program. If you have missed the cohort, you can take the next 8-week beginner course, and then re-take it once the next cohort begins. (This course is required two times, so this puts you ahead in a way)

I mostly teach and use Gendlin’s classic six steps Focusing. I also teach a mix of other styles, including empathic reflections/double empathic moments (Janet Klein’s Interactive Focusing), and when working with difficult parts we use some Presence Language (Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin’s Inner Relationship Focusing). Finally, I teach asking the felt sense for action steps. Some of this is inspired by David Rome’s book Your Body Knows the Answer, Bala Jaison, Robert Lee’s Domain Focusing, but also from Otto Scharmer’s Theory U. See blogs about action steps and Focusing. Gendlin also used the term “just right next step” in his major work A Process Model, though he didn’t emphasize action as much in his work as others.

Yes, Focusing is a beautiful tool which can help process many issues, including trauma. The training includes how to create safety as a listener, both within yourself (via the Focusing attitude) and with others with empathic and compassionate listening, that welcomes what wants to come forward to be felt/known and processed.

I am a trauma-informed Focusing professional, having trained with Jan Winhall and her Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™ I use this in all course teaching to some degree, with a bigger emphasis on the model in the Understanding who you are course (2nd course).

The training includes when to recommend that someone work with a therapist in addition to a Focusing professional.

The main tool I use with Focusing sessions are the felt sense body cards. This is a tool I created to record the felt sense in a non-linear way in addition to using words/phrases to capture a Focusing session. We will also use my PUPA process in the fourth and fifth course, which is a tool for working on an issue that requires multiple Focusing sessions. Finally, I use Power Point as a way to map dialogue or timelines of parts. Other mapping tools can also be used such as whiteboards.

My professional lineage is inter-disciplinary, spanning environmental science, business, Focusing and emergence.

Within the world of Focusing, I owe the most to Eugene Gendlin for creating the practice. I became a Certified Focusing Professional with Coordinator Jan Winhall; I’m currently a Coordinator-in-Training with Mentoring Coordinator Peter Gill and support team members Massimo Zarghetta and Lynn Preston.

I have also studied Focusing and Thinking at the Edge during guest lecturers, workshops, courses or conferences with (in alphabetical order by last name) Peter Afford, Tomeu Barceló, Beatrice Blake, Lucy Bowers, Naty Calviño, Ann Weiser Cornell, Marine de Freminville, Heinke Deloch, Aaffien de Vries, Leslie Ellis, Yehudit First, Bala Jaison, Sergio Lara, Robert Lee, Mia Leijssen, Susan Lennox, Nada Lou, Beth Mahler, Barbara McGavin, Jeffrey Morrison, Suzanne Nöel, Lynn Preston, Laury Rappaport. Apologies to those I have missed here.

Outside of Focusing, I want to acknowledge those I have learned from about the nervous system, trauma, resilience, compassion and courage, including Stephen Porges, Deb Dana, Bessel van der Kolk, Rick Hansen, Dan Siegel, Kristen Neff, Kelly McGonigal, Christopher Germer, Deborah Lee, Richard Schwartz and Brené Brown.

And then there are the many embodied coaches that I have studied with and learned from, including Beatrice (Bebe) Hansen, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Staci Haines, Alta Starr, Amanda Blake, David Treleaven, Wendy Palmer and Ginny Whitelaw.

For working with emergence, I have learned Open Space Technology from David Barnes, Dynamic Facilitation from Rosa Zubizarreta. Others in this area include Peggy Holman, Brenda Zimmerman, Paul Plsek.

There are too many to name for business (including psychological safety), creativity and the environment, but a few influential people have been Otto Scharmer, Arawana Hayashi, Natalie Nixon, Steve Schein, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Andy Fisher, Timothy R. Clark, and Amy C. Edmondson.

View land acknowledgment here.

The average time to complete the program is two years.

It is possible to complete it in slightly less time, say 1.5 years, but only if multiple components are done together. Example: co-teaching a beginner course while working on your final project.

You can opt to spread it out over a longer time period. This can be the case if you need to take breaks in between courses, or opt to do the courses in a different order to better suit your learning needs (in essence being part of multiple cohorts).

As a Coordinator-in-Training with TIFI, I can certify you to be a Focusing Trainer or Certified Focusing Professional. View details here.

As I am not a psychotherapist, I CANNOT certify you as a Focusing Oriented Therapist. If you’d like to be certified that way, you’ll have to find a Coordinator or Coordinator-in-Training who has the following qualifications: certification in Focusing Oriented Therapy from TIFI; be a psychotherapist who is legally able to practice in their country. View more about becoming an FOT here.

There are 12 spots in the cohort beginning September 2023.

Costs depend on what stream you choose: teaching, guiding or a mix.

Additionally, I use sliding scale pricing, and so your cost will depend on both your location and life situation. You can review the Sliding Scale Pricing page which outlines country groupings and prompts that can help you determine where to place yourself on the scale.

You can view this table which estimates the cost (in USD) of the program by stream and by situation.

Costs include course costs and a monthly membership fee. Additionally, the teaching and mix streams have extra course costs, as you pay the fees for the courses you co-teach.

Optional Private Sessions:

Trainees can also opt to have private mentoring/supervision sessions, either with me or with another Certified Focusing Professional, and this would increase the total cost.