Children's focusing

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Marta Stapert, Bart Santen, George Neagu · 1986 · Netherlands

What it is

Children's focusing is not a separate, manualised therapy. It is an adaptation of Eugene Gendlin's Focusing for children and the adults around them (parents, teachers, child therapists), described by its authors as a basic attitude towards children as much as a set of exercises, and typically added…

Format

• No fixed session count or phase protocol exists in the primary sources; the frameworks below are teaching and process sequences, used flexibly and repeated as needed.
• Phase 0: adult preparation. The adult first learns Focusing for themselves (a basic course and ongoing personal practice) and reflects on their own expectations, moods, limits and triggers. Teachers are taught Focusing and Clearing a Space before running it with pupils. Move on when the adult can…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the image changing or softening between sheets.
• the child correcting you or going further = working.
• a calmer, curious tone in the child; reduced flooding.
• gradual emergence of fragments that can be acknowledged.
• the child's hands working purposefully; nonverbal shifts.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.