Focusing for Beginners—for advanced listeners (4 weeks)

In this four-week beginner Focusing course for advanced listeners, we delve into each of the 6 steps of Eugene Gendlin’s practice.

Each week, we learn about one or two steps, as well as an aspect of listening:

1. Clearing a Space and the Focusing Attitude (Receiving) + Holding Space

2. Finding the Felt Sense + Saying Back (Mirroring)

3. Getting a Handle and Resonating + Reflecting with Our Own Words (Active Listening)

4. Asking + Helping your Focuser deepen their experience (Experiential Listening)

We gradually grow our Focusing skills while adapting our listening skills for the practice: first by learning to say back the words shared especially the felt/emotional words (week 1), reflecting in our own words when it feels right and asking simple questions such as “Where do you carry that in your body?” (week 2). Then we learn to take our Focuser through most of the steps and ask guiding questions such as “Can you get a handle for that?” (week 3). We finish by learning the variety of ways we can use Asking questions (week 4), to unfold the problem or find solutions with guiding questions like “What’s the worst about that?” or “What would it feel like if it as all better?”

Each class includes a centering, teaching of step(s) and listening skills, a small experiential guided by me, a demonstration and then breakout room practice (groups of two or three).

To further your practice, it is encouraged to also form a Focusing partnership with another participant. This involves meeting between classes to practice, in an exchange of Focusing and listening. You can also opt to be assessed for the Proficiency in Focusing Partnership Award provided through TIFI.

Timing and other details

Next Groups with Annette Dubreuil:

• Tuesdays, 10 am to 12 pm Eastern, November 18 - December 9, 2025 (see your local time), with Coordinator Annette Dubreuil and PUPA Focusing Trainee Marcelle Martin

  • Registration deadline November 15

• Upcoming classes - dates to be determined. Please email me at annette@pupa.ca to let me know your interest and when you would be available for this training. You can also join the 8-week version of this course which takes more time to introduce the material, and has more time for practice and demos. Hence while it is designed for the general public/non-practitioners or beginner listeners, it is a wonderful experience for practitioners as well.

Group size: each group has between 8-24 participants.

Who is this course for? The course is best suited to Focusing beginners who have some prior listening experience. This might be listening to yourself introspectively (e.g. via meditation, yoga, Qigong, journalling, in therapy). Or listening to others through various listening practices (e.g. Circling, Authentic Relating, Nonviolent Communications). Perhaps you listen as your profession (e.g. coaches, therapists, other healing practitioners). Finally, the course also welcomes intermediate and experienced Focusers interested in a refresh. If you are new to both Focusing and listening (both yourself and others), then it is recommended you begin with the 8-week beginner course which gives more time for learning and integrating the skills taught in the course.

Course location: Zoom

Sliding scale pricing: This course has sliding scale pricing, offering multiple price points to make the course more accessible and reduce financial barriers for people with different levels of income. Please view the sliding scale fees page for details and codes.

• Full fee: US$240

• 25% off: US$180

• 50% off: US$120

• 70% off: US$72

• 80% off: US$48

• 90% off: US$24

Notes:

• This course is to learn Focusing in partnership. Breakout room practice and practice in between classes help build that muscle. As such, live attendance is essential. That said, we recognize that sometimes an absence is inevitable. Therefore the classes are recorded and shared with you. This includes the guided exercises, slide teachings, demonstrations and group sharing. Breakout room practice is not recorded.

• You can take this class as a stand alone experience, continue on with the whole PUPA journey, or whatever course or courses resonate with you.

• Consisting of five courses, the journey covers learning Focusing (this course), learning about who you are, discovering who you want to be and what you want to bring into the world with Thinking At the Edge (TAE, Gendlin’s second practice), transforming a large block using the 8Cs of self-leadership, and finally a course on taking action with embodied leadership.

• The journey can be extended to the PUPA Focusing Certification Program, which includes additional requirements to become a Certified Focusing Professional with The International Focusing Institute.