FOCUSING SESSIONS
Inner listening. Body wisdom.
A gentle path toward self‑trust and self‑compassion. In person in Bristol and online, in English and German.
"Your body is not a machine, rather a wonderfully intricate interaction with everything around you, which is why it "knows" so much just in being."
EUGENE GENDLIN
What is Focusing?
Focusing is a simple yet powerful practice that helps you relate to your feelings in a fresh, deep way, one that allows them to change and bring new insight.
It's a body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing, where we learn to notice the subtle level of knowing that speaks to us through the body. Most people know they have feelings. What they don't always know is how to follow those feelings all the way into the body, where they become able to change.
My role is to help you find the kind of inner relationship where you can keep company with whatever arises. I'm there alongside you, offering presence and guidance as you listen to how it feels from the inside, and stay with the places in you that want to be known.
it can feel like a homecoming
What to expect
In a Focusing session, I'm not acting as your therapist but as your Focusing companion and guide. Our attention is on your own relationship with what you're experiencing inside. My role is to accompany you with presence and compassion as we turn, together, toward whatever is calling for attention.
We make space for a "something in there", a place that is more than a feeling or a thought, something that carries its own knowing. We pause with it, sense how it is from the inside, and let it show us the way it wants to be met. This something often needs company before it can unfold.
This kind of inner attending can be hard to do alone. In our sessions we keep company with what's here together: you listening to it directly, and me supporting you in that listening, helping you stay with the edge where something new can come.
These sessions are suitable whether you're new to Focusing or already familiar with the practice.
Focusing might be for you if…
You want to develop a more friendly and compassionate relationship with yourself.
You long for a gentler, more embodied way of being with your feelings.
You find it hard to know what you feel or what you need.
You often feel “too much” inside or “nothing at all.”
You want to build more self‑trust and inner steadiness.
Ways to focus together
When you book a Focusing session, you can choose the approach that suits you. All of these sit under the umbrella of Focusing Sessions, you simply choose the style that feels right.
1:1 TEACHING
Learning Focusing
For those new to Focusing who want to learn the practice, step by step.
ACCOMPANIED PRACTICE
Focusing Sessions
For those who already know Focusing and want deeper support, guidance or holding.
CREATIVE & EMBODIED
Focusing with Art & Movement
A creative approach that welcomes expression beyond words, through gesture, posture, movement or art materials.
"This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all.
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."
RUMI
Hi, I’m Mareike
I learned Focusing in 2012 on a ‘Focusing and Meditation retreat’ in Dhanakosa, a buddhist retreat centre in Scotland. This retreat has been a turning point in my life. I still remember that deep resonance inside, when the teacher was introducing this practice called ‘Focusing’. It felt like ‘homecoming’. It was so familiar and yet it was something completely new. Focusing has shown me how to open the door to the ‘ME’ inside. Learning Focusing has been the beginning of my journey of deep healing and self discovery.
I still remember that simple, yet profound discovery, that I can turn towards my feelings with interested curiosity, no matter how uncomfortable and scary it seemed. Since then a whole new world has opened to me. I had finally found some solid ground to stand on. A reliable resource, I carried inside myself and that was always available. It felt strong and powerful, yet delicate, simple and natural. Learning Focusing has been a precious gift and I immediately knew I wanted to take this forward.
DANCE MOVEMENT PSYCHOTHERAPY (MA, ADMP UK) · FOCUSING PRACTITIONER (BFA) · CHILDREN’S FOCUSING COMPANION · RADICAL ALLOWING PRACTITIONER · BSC PSYCHOLOGY
INVESTMENT
£65
per session
SESSIONS
60 minutes
WHERE
In-person in Bristol
& online
LANGUAGES
English
& German
Book a free introductory consultation
Whether you're excited to begin, or still a little unsure if this is for you, reach out and we can work it out together. Once you send an enquiry, I'll get back to you shortly to arrange a time for our consultation.
A few questions you might have
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Yes. Focusing was developed by philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin at the University of Chicago, whose research into what makes therapy effective formed the foundation of the practice. It is taught and practised worldwide and is supported by the British Focusing Association (BFA), of which I am a certified member. While it may be less well known than some other therapeutic approaches, it has a rich academic history and a growing body of research behind it.
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No prior experience is needed. Focusing is a natural process, and we begin exactly where you are. You don’t need to know how to “feel into your body” or how to sense a felt sense — that will come gently as we go.
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Then that is exactly what we will welcome and keep company with. There is never any pressure to feel something in a particular way. In Focusing, whatever is here - including “I can’t feel anything”, is part of the process and can be met with curiosity and respect. Often, the “not feeling” is itself a something in there, a place that is holding a kind of wisdom or protection. When we turn toward it gently, it can become a rich place to stay with. There is no right way to do this. Whatever you notice, even if it’s a blank, a fog, a tightness, or simply a sense of “something” without words, is welcome and can be interacted with. We take our time, letting it show itself in its own way.
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If something feels overwhelming, we will slow down and gently turn toward it in a way that feels safe for you. In Focusing, we don’t go into the intensity — instead, we find a way to be with it from a bit of a distance, so that you are the one who is sensing it, rather than being taken over by it.