Focusing is a mind-body self-help technique developed in the late Seventies by Dr. Eugene Gendlin at the University of Chicago out of research he conducted into what most predictably led to lasting positive changes in therapy. It is a gentle yet powerful way of connecting to an underground river of information that constantly flows within you -- information that, if you know how to listen to it, will tell you who you really are, and what you feel, need and want. 

Sound strange or magical? It's not. This information is embedded in a certain kind of sense we all have inside, something that's neither thought nor feeling but a little bit of both, which Gendlin called the felt sense. A felt sense is something you've already experienced. If you've ever gotten into an elevator and automatically moved over because you felt too close to someone, or gone house-hunting and stepped into a house or apartment and gone "Aaah! This is it!" then you know what it feels like.

Focusing and Focusing-Oriented Therapy are about accessing your felt senses and following them, in a guided and structured manner, to bring you remarkable, surprising, and important truths about yourself. Through Focusing-Oriented Therapy, you stop fixing yourself, fighting yourself and trying to change yourself, none of which work very well to produce long-lasting change. Instead, you start paying attention to what's really going on inside you, discovering deeply held feelings, thoughts and desires that you were half-aware of but never quite understood before -- and suddenly you understand how they're getting in your way. Then, by continuing the Focusing process, you actually transform them, so that they stop working against you --- they work for you.

I’ve used Focusing-Oriented Therapy to successfully treat depression, anxiety, anger issues and panic disorders, and as part of the treatment for people recovering from addictions. It is also a wonderful skill for anyone who sometimes feels overwhelmed by their emotions, for it offers a way to "listen" to deep and powerful feelings without becoming overcome by them.

Not everyone wants to do that much Focusing in their therapy, and that's OK. But the Focusing-oriented attitude is always part of my work. It's an attitude of radical acceptance to all aspects of what my clients feel and are going through. It's an attitude of going below the surface, of paying attention as much to what is unsaid as what is said, and of helping my clients to sense "inside," into what their heart and their gut are trying to tell them.  

And most of all, it's an attitude of helping people to stop fighting, managing, fixing and trying to control what they feel, and instead, start to listen to their own feelings, thoughts and heart-felt desires .... with compassion.  

If this sounds like what you're looking for, then email me or give me a call at 240 315-8100. I look forward to hearing from you!

Larry Letich and Frederick Counseling serve the suburban Maryland and Washington, DC area, including: Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, College Park, Wheaton, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Potomac, North Potomac, Germantown, Clarksburg, Boyds, Frederick, Myersville, Middletown, Walkersville, Thurmont, Hagerstown, Mt. Airy, Woodsboro, New Market, Boonesboro, Brunswick, Poolesville, Barnsville, Beallsville, and the following communities in Virginia: Arlington, Alexandria, Langley, McLean, Great Falls, Falls Church, Vienna. Larry Letich offers counseling and psychotherapy to women, men and couples dealing with anxiety, depression, underachievement, obstacles to creativity, especially writing, and sexual identity confusion.