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Focusing in Clinical Practice: The Essence of Change
A therapy technique for inner awareness and meaningful change.
“Focusing” is a particular process of attention that supports therapeutic change, a process that has been linked in more than 50 research studies with successful outcomes in psychotherapy. First developed by pioneering philosopher and psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin, Focusing quietly inspired much of the somatically oriented, mindfulness-based work being done today. Yet what makes Focusing a truly revolutionary approach to therapeutic change has been little understood—until now.Focusing is based on a radically different understanding of the body as inherently meaningful and implicitly wise. Mere intellectualizing or talking about problems can keep clients stuck in their old patterns of behavior. Focusing introduces the concept of the “felt sense,” a moment in process when there is a potential to experience more than is already known and to break through old, frozen, stuck patterns. Clients who see real change during the course of their therapy work are often those who can contact and stay with a felt sense—but how to help them do so is not obvious.Ann Weiser Cornell, who has been teaching Focusing to clinicians for more than 30 years, shows how to help clients get felt senses and nurture them when they appear, how to work with clients who have difficulty feeling in the body, how to facilitate a “felt shift,” how to support clients who experience dysregulating emotional states, and much more. Beginning with a clear explanation of what makes Focusing so potentially transformative, she goes on to show how to effectively incorporate Focusing with other treatment modalities and use it to treat a range of client issues, notably trauma, addiction, and depression.Designed to be immediately applicable for working clinicians and filled with practical strategies, clinical examples, and vignettes, this book shows step by step how to bring Focusing into any kind of clinical practice. Cornell expertly demonstrates the Focusing process unfolding, moment by moment, in the therapy room, and illuminates its powerful capacity to support a client’s growth and change.
“Focusing” is a particular process of attention that supports therapeutic change, a process that has been linked in more than 50 research studies with successful outcomes in psychotherapy. First developed by pioneering philosopher and psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin, Focusing quietly inspired much of the somatically oriented, mindfulness-based work being done today. Yet what makes Focusing a truly revolutionary approach to therapeutic change has been little understood—until now.Focusing is based on a radically different understanding of the body as inherently meaningful and implicitly wise. Mere intellectualizing or talking about problems can keep clients stuck in their old patterns of behavior. Focusing introduces the concept of the “felt sense,” a moment in process when there is a potential to experience more than is already known and to break through old, frozen, stuck patterns. Clients who see real change during the course of their therapy work are often those who can contact and stay with a felt sense—but how to help them do so is not obvious.Ann Weiser Cornell, who has been teaching Focusing to clinicians for more than 30 years, shows how to help clients get felt senses and nurture them when they appear, how to work with clients who have difficulty feeling in the body, how to facilitate a “felt shift,” how to support clients who experience dysregulating emotional states, and much more. Beginning with a clear explanation of what makes Focusing so potentially transformative, she goes on to show how to effectively incorporate Focusing with other treatment modalities and use it to treat a range of client issues, notably trauma, addiction, and depression.Designed to be immediately applicable for working clinicians and filled with practical strategies, clinical examples, and vignettes, this book shows step by step how to bring Focusing into any kind of clinical practice. Cornell expertly demonstrates the Focusing process unfolding, moment by moment, in the therapy room, and illuminates its powerful capacity to support a client’s growth and change.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2013
82 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Ann Weiser Cornell
13 books40 followers
Ann Weiser Cornell
was getting her PhD in Linguistics at the University of Chicago when she met and studied with Eugene Gendlin, the originator of Focusing, starting in 1972. Learning Focusing with him has led to a lifelong process of discovery and personal development.
In 1980, Eugene Gendlin invited Ann to assist with his Focusing workshops. This started her on a path to become a Focusing teacher, and in 1991, Ann joined with Barbara McGavin to create Inner Relationship Focusing, internationally recognized as one of the leading innovations in Focusing.
Ann has taught Inner Relationship Focusing in twenty countries, and her Focusing books and manuals have been translated into eleven other languages (Czech, Dari, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Spanish).
Ann is well-known in the Focusing world for her attention to the language that facilitates Focusing, her popular manuals, and her co-creation with Barbara McGavin of Untanging®, a body of work applying Focusing to difficult areas such as addiction, depression, action blocks, self-criticism, and unfulfilled desire. She is the author of five books on Focusing: her bestseller The Power of Focusing (1996), The Radical Acceptance of Everything (2005), Focusing in Clinical Practice: The Essence of Change (2013), Presence: A Guide to Transforming Your Most Challenging Emotions (2015), and 21 Days to Healthier Boundaries (2020). Ann is authorized by the Focusing Institute in New York to offer the Institute’s certification as Focusing Trainer.
In 1980, Eugene Gendlin invited Ann to assist with his Focusing workshops. This started her on a path to become a Focusing teacher, and in 1991, Ann joined with Barbara McGavin to create Inner Relationship Focusing, internationally recognized as one of the leading innovations in Focusing.
Ann has taught Inner Relationship Focusing in twenty countries, and her Focusing books and manuals have been translated into eleven other languages (Czech, Dari, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Spanish).
Ann is well-known in the Focusing world for her attention to the language that facilitates Focusing, her popular manuals, and her co-creation with Barbara McGavin of Untanging®, a body of work applying Focusing to difficult areas such as addiction, depression, action blocks, self-criticism, and unfulfilled desire. She is the author of five books on Focusing: her bestseller The Power of Focusing (1996), The Radical Acceptance of Everything (2005), Focusing in Clinical Practice: The Essence of Change (2013), Presence: A Guide to Transforming Your Most Challenging Emotions (2015), and 21 Days to Healthier Boundaries (2020). Ann is authorized by the Focusing Institute in New York to offer the Institute’s certification as Focusing Trainer.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 7, 2013
A number of interesting articles from different practitioners of Focusing. I'd recommend this book for beginner Focusers.
September 27, 2014
Worth reading
I very much enjoyed this reading. Cornell has a direct way of teaching Focusing, and it feels like a highly important technique.
I very much enjoyed this reading. Cornell has a direct way of teaching Focusing, and it feels like a highly important technique.
March 17, 2025
I read this awhile ago and loved the simplicity and ease of the theory and practice.
Read
October 23, 2013Currently re- reading with a colleague. Our book club is through Skype : )
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
October 1, 2025
One of the most helpful clinical texts I’ve read. It lays the foundation for all the experiential therapies in a remarkably clear and practical way. I’m trained in IFS and AEDP and only wish both models began with this text. IFS is elaborate and sophisticated in its explanation of the origins of defenses (“protectors”) and how to heal (“unburden”) the stored trauma of child parts (“exiles”). However, it is curiously short in its explanation of how to help clients unblend from reactive states and dysregulating emotions—the crucial first step to the healing process and the one most clients struggle with most. This book fills that void, offering precise interventions to help clients access a compassionate quality of presence (“Self”).
An essential read in my development as a therapist that I’ll be returning to countless times.
An essential read in my development as a therapist that I’ll be returning to countless times.
July 6, 2023
Lots of excellent food for thought on using ambiguous language to create spaciousness around inner experiences (how to cultivate witnessing, essentially). Not the most accessibly written, but I appreciated the level of detail and thought brought to mapping out the process and overlaps with other therapeutic modalities.
February 12, 2025
As a focusing-oriented psychologist, this is a book that I always keep on the shelf to read and reread.. really grateful to Ann W. Cornell for the huge work she’s doing
A great book, I love to integrate her view with Gendlin’s one
A great book, I love to integrate her view with Gendlin’s one
January 2, 2022
Focusing in Clinical Practice by Ann Weiser Cornel is a fascinating book about the therapy technique of “Focusing” which involves holding attention to an internal knowing which is directly experienced but not yet in words. I found the book well structured, from the history of the technique to its application by various therapists. While Weiser Cornel refers to Focusing as a technique for psychotherapists, I also imagined how it could be useful for anyone who wants to help others understand how their bodily experience can contribute to better understanding their life situation.
As a more rationally-minded person, I found the Focusing process really beautiful. Much of how I think and speak is based on my cognitive understanding of the world. Wiser Cornel notes that simply speaking about issues can keep clients stuck, which has also been my experience. So I appreciated how Focusing acknowledges the body as implicitly wise, and enables one to experience more than what is simply known in the cognitive sense. However, in reading the book I also realized that introducing Focusing to someone who is relies more on their cognitive stream could take considerable practice and skill.
Outside of using Focusing in client sessions, Wiser Cornel mentioned a few ways to help clients self-regulate in between sessions through simple and practical techniques. For example, when challenging feelings arise within clients, they can just say “hello” to those feelings or say “something in me is sad” to acknowledge those feelings are there. I found these tips for creating a little bit of space between the feeling and self really valuable as a way of supporting clients and also introducing Focusing concepts.
Focusing requires using a metaphorical language to describe what are referred to as “felt senses,” e.g. “something is tightening up in my throat.” Again, as a more rationally-minded person, the language of felt senses, with it’s metaphorical poetry, really resonated with me. Felt senses are not stories, thoughts or sensations that are disconnected from meaning or life connection, but I realize that it’s easy for many people (including myself) to stay in this realm. This aspect of the book inspired me to get more in touch with my own felt senses that I experience in my daily life, which will be invaluable to my own development.
Weiser Cornel introduces the concept of “Self-in-Presence” which is a state of self that is witnessing and compassionate towards one’s own experience. In the process of explaining this concept, she describes how Self-in-Presence is closely related to mindfulness, which I’ve practiced for some time. This gave me a sense that I’m not far away from being able to experience Self-in-Presence. Weiser Cornel notes that the main distinction between mindfulness and Self-in-Presence is that the latter goes beyond neutral observation to be compassionate, empathetic and interested. This led me to be very curious about experimenting with my meditations and introducing more compassionate, Self-in-Presence perspectives.
The second half of the book is largely dedicated to illustrating the technique of Focusing from a therapist’s perspective. The shared examples made a great impression on me and helped me understand the power of the technique. At the same time, I feel that I would need considerable practice before I could confidently use Focusing in a coaching setting. However, perhaps it’s more attainable in coaching than I realize. “Therapy” was mentioned repeatedly throughout the book and, as someone who’s not a therapist, I have some hesitation about using therapy techniques. I hope to acquire more practice with Focusing as well as a better understanding of its application within coaching.
Weiser Cornel dedicates a chapter in the book to the use of Focusing with trauma, addictions and depression. In fact, one of the most powerful applications of Focusing may be as a technique for unblocking trauma. Reading this chapter was very impactful because it helped support my ongoing realization that it’s crucial to give attention to the somatic experience in clients with trauma. This has been a big shift in how I think about trauma and was a trigger for a recent deeper exploration of somatic modalities for addressing trauma.
I’m really grateful to have read this great explanation and guidebook of Focusing, and I’m inspired to acquire more skill with this technique. While I’m inexperienced with the Focusing, I feel certain that it has applications within the coaching setting, although more training may be required for me to feel confident enough to share it with clients. Regardless of whether I use it with clients, it’s given me much better foundation for bringing somatic work into my coaching
As a more rationally-minded person, I found the Focusing process really beautiful. Much of how I think and speak is based on my cognitive understanding of the world. Wiser Cornel notes that simply speaking about issues can keep clients stuck, which has also been my experience. So I appreciated how Focusing acknowledges the body as implicitly wise, and enables one to experience more than what is simply known in the cognitive sense. However, in reading the book I also realized that introducing Focusing to someone who is relies more on their cognitive stream could take considerable practice and skill.
Outside of using Focusing in client sessions, Wiser Cornel mentioned a few ways to help clients self-regulate in between sessions through simple and practical techniques. For example, when challenging feelings arise within clients, they can just say “hello” to those feelings or say “something in me is sad” to acknowledge those feelings are there. I found these tips for creating a little bit of space between the feeling and self really valuable as a way of supporting clients and also introducing Focusing concepts.
Focusing requires using a metaphorical language to describe what are referred to as “felt senses,” e.g. “something is tightening up in my throat.” Again, as a more rationally-minded person, the language of felt senses, with it’s metaphorical poetry, really resonated with me. Felt senses are not stories, thoughts or sensations that are disconnected from meaning or life connection, but I realize that it’s easy for many people (including myself) to stay in this realm. This aspect of the book inspired me to get more in touch with my own felt senses that I experience in my daily life, which will be invaluable to my own development.
Weiser Cornel introduces the concept of “Self-in-Presence” which is a state of self that is witnessing and compassionate towards one’s own experience. In the process of explaining this concept, she describes how Self-in-Presence is closely related to mindfulness, which I’ve practiced for some time. This gave me a sense that I’m not far away from being able to experience Self-in-Presence. Weiser Cornel notes that the main distinction between mindfulness and Self-in-Presence is that the latter goes beyond neutral observation to be compassionate, empathetic and interested. This led me to be very curious about experimenting with my meditations and introducing more compassionate, Self-in-Presence perspectives.
The second half of the book is largely dedicated to illustrating the technique of Focusing from a therapist’s perspective. The shared examples made a great impression on me and helped me understand the power of the technique. At the same time, I feel that I would need considerable practice before I could confidently use Focusing in a coaching setting. However, perhaps it’s more attainable in coaching than I realize. “Therapy” was mentioned repeatedly throughout the book and, as someone who’s not a therapist, I have some hesitation about using therapy techniques. I hope to acquire more practice with Focusing as well as a better understanding of its application within coaching.
Weiser Cornel dedicates a chapter in the book to the use of Focusing with trauma, addictions and depression. In fact, one of the most powerful applications of Focusing may be as a technique for unblocking trauma. Reading this chapter was very impactful because it helped support my ongoing realization that it’s crucial to give attention to the somatic experience in clients with trauma. This has been a big shift in how I think about trauma and was a trigger for a recent deeper exploration of somatic modalities for addressing trauma.
I’m really grateful to have read this great explanation and guidebook of Focusing, and I’m inspired to acquire more skill with this technique. While I’m inexperienced with the Focusing, I feel certain that it has applications within the coaching setting, although more training may be required for me to feel confident enough to share it with clients. Regardless of whether I use it with clients, it’s given me much better foundation for bringing somatic work into my coaching
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews