Teaching Focusing Through Discrete Modules
© 2008 by Bruce Nayowith MD Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Rationale
Some people learn best by experiencing a whole process at once, then working on particular aspects of it (whole-to-part learners). Others learn best by experiencing aspects of the process, and later putting them together into a functional whole (part-to-whole learners).
Most Focusing training is of the former type.
Some formats of Focusing training involve concentrated large amounts of time.
This Modular Approach seeks to find aspects of the Focusing process that can be helpful, even if done alone and separately.
In this way, it is akin to what Joan Klagsbrun demonstrates in her DVD A Focusing Approach to Life-Changing Illness by Nada Lou Productions, available from the Focusing Institute store.
The modules on this website are designed to be adapted for a high school, university, business, or community setting where one has 45–90 minutes per class. In addition, each module has value on its own, even if one has not attended any of the other sessions.
This is a very malleable format. It also lends itself to webinar format. Teachers and presenters can pick and choose which modules they prefer to offer, in whichever order they prefer, and can add their own.
Advantages
- One can learn helpful aspects of the Focusing process one piece at a time. This suits part-to-whole learning preference.
- Because the format is adaptable to shorter teaching units and different time intervals, wider types of audiences can be reached.
- Scheduling might be easier. Learning can occur incrementally over several months.
- Each module in the first three sets is discrete. Attending any individual module, in any order, still gives the participant a new perceptual awareness and a discrete take-home skill and understanding, even if one doesn’t attend the entire series.
- This is a way to introduce Focusing in a slower fashion. One can “dip their toes into the water” instead of taking the whole plunge at once, or it can suit those who prefer to lead with their heads.
Disadvantages
- One does not get to experience the full power or flow of Focusing as a whole process until near the end (if at all).
- One may not learn all of the depth and subtlety which may be needed for work as a coach or therapist.
- One might learn the individual skills but miss the sense of the flowing seamless nature of the Focusing process.
- Focusing, at its best, is an interactive dance. Modular learning can lead to a “paint by numbers” approach rather than learning the beauty and skill of the entire connected process.