What is Focalizing?

Understanding Focalizing

Focalizing is a healing approach that works hand in hand with the innate intelligence of the body to enable positive changes in a person's life. The human body constantly provides signals and communication when a person is suffering either mentally or physically. Rather than seeing them as distraction or a barrier, Focalizing helps reveal that these natural signals are actually a roadmap to lasting healing. With Focalizing, the client is empowered to deeply and compassionately listen to their body and allow it to help them process complex emotions, find their strength and uncover solutions to long standing mental or physical health issues.

I was trained by Nick Werber, one of the leading practitioners of Focalizing in the world. The Focalizing process was pioneered in the 1980s by Dr. Michael Picucci and is inspired by his experience with Somatic Experiencing, Focusing and Dr. Picucci's own research and observations from his 30+ year career.

Although Focalizing relies on cultivating the client's connection with their body, the approach does not involve physical touch. Instead, Focalizing sessions guide the client to work with their body by directing their conscious awareness to the felt sensations of the body. The result is an effective and holistic process that can be done with a trained facilitator or individually as a method of self-healing.

The Focalizing Process

From an observer's perspective, Focalizing looks similar to a guided meditation whereby participants may choose to close their eyes to aid in bringing their conscious attention inward. Once a client is grounded and focusing on the felt senses of their body, a facilitator guides the Focalizer through a step-by-step process that allows the body's innate healing capabilities to turn on and flow into the blocks that are at the heart of the their issue.

A Focalizing session starts with intention. An intention can be freedom from anxiety, wanting better sex, understanding if it's time to leave a job or simply to feel less stress. What's been observed time after time is that when a client sets an intention, connects deeply with their body and watches what unfolds without judgement or labeling, the body naturally surfaces what needs to be acknowledged and worked with in order to move past the barriers that are blocking them.

What comes to light can take the form of memories, images, felt sensations and/or emotions; some of which were long forgotten or suppressed in some manner. As the session continues, the facilitator supports the client by suggesting specific approaches for moving deeper into these experiences in a safe and supported manner.

The lasting power of this process unfolds after a short period of time of deepening the mind-body connection. In as little as 10-15 minutes of watching what surfaces, the body's natural and powerful healing mechanisms are able to come online. Without much conscious effort on behalf of the client, their body begins to release the stored shock of trauma, the tension of years of anxiety and the emotions that once felt hopelessly entangled around the client's past story.

Why Is Focalizing A 'Lifeline' For So Many?

Focalizing is founded on the understanding that deep, sustainable healing doesn’t necessarily come from re-living the story or brainstorming solutions to complex emotional issues. Instead, it comes from accessing a part of the mind and body that most people have lost touch with. Focalizing is a lifeline for so many because it gives anyone the ability to fundamentally improve the quality of their life without the need to revisit how they think they got to this point.