What is Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts Therapy?
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts Therapy, also developed by Dr. Laury Rappaport, integrates Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing with all of the expressive arts, including dance-movement, writing, music, psychodrama, drama therapy, and intermodal expressive therapy. When clients Focus on a particular issue or experience, they are guided by the therapist to see if they can sense it from the inside of the body and to get, a ‘felt sense.’ As the client brings the Focusing Attitude to a felt sense (i.e.” being friendly to” or welcoming the felt sense), they see if there is a ‘handle’ or symbol that describes the felt experience. To get a handle or symbol, the client sees if there is a word, phrase, image, gesture, or sound that matches or acts like a handle for the inner felt sense. The client waits for the symbol or handle to come from the body. There is no right way-word, phrase, image, gesture, or sound.
