Find participants from all over Europe ready to share their experience with Focusing and Focusing applications, co-creating new European projects.
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with other European Focusing Professionals
EFA Annual Meeting 2023
It is scheduled for 25-29 October 2023
For further details: please scroll down this page completely
Bassano del Grappa Old Town and Ponte degli Alpini bridge, Veneto province, Italy
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 125
Focusing Tip No. 124 When things don’t feel resolved at the end of the session. A Focuser asks, ‘What...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 123
Focusing Tip No. 123 So what is Focusing? (For people who don’t know it yet.) The practice of Focusing...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 122
Focusing Tip No. 122 If you feel stuck with something in your life, and you don’t know what to...
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Interview with Akira Ikemi, Senses of Focusing, Vol. I
In his chapter Stop to appreciate Gene’s legacy and then step forward, (Senses of Focusing, Vol. I, Eurasia Publications) Akira Ikemi brings together his understanding of the philosophical origins of Focusing...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 121
Focusing Tip No. 121 How to help your client’s process to carry forward. When you empathically hear and reflect...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 120
Focusing Tip No. 120 Being with overwhelming feelings C asks, When I feel I’m whelming up inside, like a...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 119
Focusing Tip No. 119 Living with uncertainty. Living with uncertainty and not knowing in your life can be destabilising,...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 118
Focusing Tip No. 118 The Presence of Awareness When you are Focusing, it helps to develop your capacity for...
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Fiona Parr – Focusing Tip No. 117
Focusing Tip No. 117 When the body speaks through sensations. A Focuser says, ‘I experienced intense sensations in my...
EFA is a European network for Focusers, Focusing professionals and Focusing practitioners,
who wish to develop Focusing and the Experiential Approach through collaboration, openness and mutual support.
You don’t have to be a member of any other Focusing organization to be a member of EFA.
Read our latest Newsletter
# Easy subscription and unsubscription to EFA mailing lists: #
1) Scroll all the way down to the bottom (the “footer”) of the webpage and ‘subscribe’ or ‘unsubscribe’ to our mailing list at any time.
2) Use the online Google Form to give your consent to receive newsletters and mailings from EFA: https://goo.gl/forms/
3) Send in the Consent form as a document (which you can print out, fill in, sign and then send to us – as a scanned document or as a photograph):
https://drive.google.com/open?
4) And, of course, you can always send a direct email (to efa@efa-focusing.eu)
Dear European Focusing Association Member
Welcome to the European Focusing Association (EFA).
We are delighted that you are joining us, and we look forward to collaborating with you in joint ventures to carry forward the gifts of Focusing.
In the next few months, we will set up web pages to support our work together.
Here, in this website, you can say something about your interests (by adding details in your professional profile),
and how you might want to contribute to EFA, as well as what you want from EFA.
EFA’s Vision Statement
We are attaching the Vision Statement 
, so that you can save it on your computer,
and forward it to other people who might be interested.
We want to be a truly European association and we want to address language needs immediately.
We invite translators, who can translate the Vision Statement into:
Spanish, French, Hebrew, Polish, Romanian, … (more)
Download the Swedish 
, Greek 
, Italian 
and German 
translation of the EFA vision statement
If you see your language here, can you please let us know if you can translate into your language,
and which language you can translate it into.
We will put the vision statements on the web site.
We look forward to our collaboration together.
Best wishes
Steering Group (from October 2021)
Hejo Feuerstein (Germany), Sari Pekki (Finland)
Cornelius Gehrig (Germany), Fiona Parr (UK), Dietmar Steinbach (Germany)
How to Become a Participant – How to Register
1. Register
Those who register
are asked to commit to the
EFA Vision Statement.
(You can download it by clicking on the link above)
Self Registration
Self Registration is now possible and we would prefer if you would use it, because it saves us a lot of time and effort.
IMPORTANT:
As soon as you have completed the self-registration, please send us a brief e-mail to efa@efa-focusing.eu and let us just know that you would like to register.
Reason is that we have ongoing spam registrations and it’s difficult to say which registration is spam and which one is not. Thank you!
Registration by email
If Self Registration is not possible, you may use the way of sending us an email to efa@efa-focusing.eu. In that case please fill out at least the first of the following form (Member-Registration & Focusing-Profile & Consent Form): EFA-Member-registration-profil-consent-form-2018
In case you need help for the registering process,
please do read the following instructions
2. Professional Focusing profile
After you are registered you can offer your professional Focusing profile data.
By your profile data you release information about you and your work to other people who might be interested in sharing experience or create projects in special domains. You can choose between different options for the visibility of your Focusing profile data: everyone, all members or “only me”.
We recommend to set the information “everyone” (public).
3. Login and Start Collaborating
Clicking on your username (upper right corner) you get access to the different ways to communicate and collaborate with other EFA participants:
- messages: private messages to other participants within the system
- groups: you can create and join to EFA task groups
- forums: you can create a post within the EFA task groups
- events: you can post your personal events like workshops
- buddydrive: you can share files (e.g. powerpoint) within EFA task groups and other participants
Target Group
- European Coordinators
- Coordinators in Training
- Focusing Trainers, personally invited by Coordinators
- Focusers, Focusing professionals and Focusing practitioners
European Focusing Association (EFA)
EFA Vision Statement and Invitation (Version July 19, 2016)
Presented and discussed at the European Coordinators’ Meeting July 18, 2016
EFA is a European network for Focusers, Focusing professionals and Focusing practitioners, who wish to develop Focusing and the Experiential Approach through collaboration, openness and mutual support.
The Association embraces diversity and multiplicity. All members share the common ground of Focusing. It does not favour any particular understanding of Focusing.
I. Principles
The aim of EFA is to provide a European-wide network for those Focusers and Focusing Professionals engaged in research and practice who:
- have a commitment to the primary importance of the philosophy of Focusing, its attitude and ethics.
- recognize the centrality of the ‘felt sense’ in their practice.
- embody in their work those Focusing attitudes as first postulated by Eugene Gendlin.
- have an openness to the future development of Focusing in the light of research and evolving practice.
II. Goals
EFA has the following goals:
- To promote continuing dialogue and good practice between the European Focusers and Focusing Professionals.
- To be a network for exploring different ways of teaching, researching and using Focusing.
- To provide ongoing support and professional development opportunities to individuals trained in Focusing and to European local and national Focusing organizations.
- To promote the Focusing paradigm, to support and encourage scientific study in all fields of application.
- To engage in socio-political processes to ensure the continued contribution of Focusing in health, social insurance, education, academic contexts, etc.
- To foster the exchange of research, theory and practice among a variety of language groups.
- To make use of our intercultural diversity, to learn from one another, to improve the practice of Focusing and the Experiential Approach.
- To develop training programmes that are appropriate to the multi-cultural and multi-lingual European context.
- To validate and accredit/recognise European Focusing-oriented training programmes.
- To work together closely and to exchange ideas with other European and world associations and institutions.
III. How does EFA operate?
EFA will be carried forward by a steering group, which will include representatives of specific task groups.
EFA aims to make sure that the workings of the association are in harmony with the processes of Focusing itself. Structures and task groups evolve as the need arises (e.g. a training group, an Internet group). Membership of these groups is on a rotational basis, ideally representing European diversity by the multinational composition of its members.
An eventual need for paid administration and for the support of web-based resources is recognized. This will mean the eventual payment of a subscription once the organization is firmly established.
IV. Meetings
EFA will discuss development of the Association at an annual meeting, the General Assembly, to be held in Europe. This meeting will also facilitate the formation of project groups that can be continued through web meetings. Specific interest groups will organize events throughout the year to demonstrate and develop new directions in Focusing. We will make use of Internet options (e.g. the European Focusing Website, Facebook) to share information and to promote training programmes and workshops.
All members of the Association may attend the General Assembly. Members who are unable to attend in person, can have their views taken into account. They can use email or other online means to communicate their views. We make all our decisions by consensus.
V. Principles and ethics
Each small group, including the steering group, follows the following principles:
- All members have equal say in how the group is run.
- All members have equal access to information.
- All members consult with their inner sense of an issue to help find a way forward.
- All members undertake to listen to their own felt sense and to the felt senses of others when reaching decisions.
The multi-national and multi-lingual nature of the organization and the fact that different individuals are likely to come together in different permutations means that there needs to be a commitment not to ‘reinvent the wheel’ or undo the work of previous groups, while respecting the groundwork provided through the work of others.
EFA accepts that working with Focusing can never be reduced to rules and regulations or detailed criteria and standards. Instead we will have guidelines and principles to be developed in detail at a later stage. Each person has the freedom to develop their work in ways that feel right with their inner felt sense and to develop their work according to their sense of responsibility for the content and process of their teaching or professional practice.
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EFA Annual Meeting 2023, 25 – 29 October 2023
at Bassano del Grappa – in northern Italy
Bassano del Grappa Old Town and Ponte degli Alpini bridge, Veneto province, Italy
The venue is lovely. You can see more information here: https://www.villangaransangiuseppe.it
The website is in Italian. How to activate Google Translate
THE VILLA ANGARAN SAN GIUSEPPE will be hosting us from Wednesday evening until Sunday lunchtime.
The Villa is located at Via Ca’ Morosini, 41 36061 Bassano del Grappa (VI), Tel. +39 331 418 72 84
Rooms will be booked on a first come, first served basis as rooms on the premises are limited.
Please read the entire email carefully for instructions on how to book yourself in as an EFA member.
Communication Platform
Once you have registered, we also encourage you to enter your name and contact info here on our communication platform so we can all stay in touch.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17uf73UKlJfIR-hy46HrAc2zqTK6QXR42WbprXMkhH6Q/edit?usp=sharing
ACCOMODATION
In the THE VILLA ANGARAN SAN GIUSEPPE we have available to us
- 9 single rooms with private bathroom at a cost of €45 a night
- 8 double rooms with private bathroom – at a discounted rate of €50 a night for singles
Or full double rate €70 a night for couples or two people sharing with twin beds. - 1 triple room €90,00
- + tourist tax – €2 per night for all above choices
- Breakfast included
- Our meeting room is at the villa
NEARBY HOSTEL: Ostello Bassano Del Grappa at Via Lorenzo Chini 6
The hostel is some 15 minutes or so walk away from the villa and also has the option to use a shared kitchen for those who prefer to self-cater. For people who would prefer an even more cost friendly option there are also shared dormitories at the hostel.
- 2 of these singles come with a private bathroom at €35 a night
- And 5 other single rooms which come with the use of a shared bathroom for €30 a night.
- double rooms with a private bathroom €56
- double rooms with the use of a shared bathroom €50
- + tourist tax – €2 per night for above choices
- Breakfast included
https://www.ostellobassanodelgrappa.it This website is in English, Italian and German so easy to browse through.
MEALS
Lunch and dinner are NOT included in the costs of the room and will need to be paid for separately when you arrive. Breakfast is included already in the costing for the rooms.
Lunch: price range to be determined, probably around Euro 16+
Dinner: Price range between Euro 20 and Euro 25 including drinks depending on the menu.
Occasionally we plan to eat out together in the old historical centre of Bassano.
ARRIVALS/DEPARTURES
Check in from 2pm on Wednesday afternoon with a shared dinner on the premises at 6pm. We will meet as a group at 7.30pm.
We will close our meeting at 1pm on Sunday, followed by lunch at the venue.
For anyone who wants to arrive earlier and/or stay on longer you can arrange it yourself at the time of booking, or potentially added on later if availability allows.
GETTING TO THE VENUE or HOSTEL
Bassano del Grappa is reachable by train.
Use trenitalia.com to check train times from wherever you are coming. You can book online through this website or buy your ticket at the ticket office.
Another good site is Trainline.com. This platform searches through various European train- and bus-services.
For those planning to fly, the closest airport is Venice Marco Polo airport.
On: https://www.atvo.it/en-ticketonline.html select:
Departure from “Venice Airport (Marco Polo) to all destinations” then select:
Da/From: Aero Porto Marco Polo (VCE)
and A/To: Mestre Stazione SS.FF.
Euro 8 one-way, Euro 15 both ways
Once in Mestre take the train to Bassano del Grappa trenitalia.com
To VILLA ANGARAN SAN GIUSEPPE at Via Ca’ Morosini, 41
By foot: 20 to 25 minutes from the train station/bus.
By Taxi: 0039 (0)424567774
The cost from the train station to both Bassano del Grappa to the Villa Angaran San and to the Hostel Ostello Bassano Del Grappa, Via Chini, 6 is between €7 and €9.
To Ostello Bassano Del Grappa at Via Lorenzo Chini 6:
By foot: From Bassano train station / bus: 1.4 km, 17 minutes.
TO REGISTER and BOOK your accommodation:
We have a special price for members of our group that you won’t get if you book online.
Please include your name, that you are coming for the European Focusing Association meeting 25 – 29 October 2023
and your choice of room and exactly how many nights you will stay.
Please book either the hotel or the hostel with: prenotazioni@villangaransangiuseppe.it
Either Paolo or one of his colleagues will respond by email.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure to CC efa@efa-focusing.eu
so that we know you are coming.
PAYMENT
Accommodation and Meals: To be paid directly to the hotel by each participant.
For the Meeting Room:
We have calculated everybody’s contributions for the cost of the two meeting rooms based on an estimated minimum number of 20 participants. Please expect to pay €65 Euro in addition to the cost of your bedroom. We will collect this money when we are there. If there are more than 20 participants, we can either collect less or use the additional amount for other EFA projects, such as the website.
EFA gathering communication platform
We now have an active communication platform, where you can see who is coming and let people know that you will join. You can see what ideas already exist, and you can post your envisioned workshop, wishes and discussion ideas; and connect for travel plans, etc.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17uf73UKlJfIR-hy46HrAc2zqTK6QXR42WbprXMkhH6Q/edit?usp=sharing
Looking forward to meeting with as many of you as can come.
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