Emotion-Focused Mindfulness Therapy

07/22/2026

A great video about the Freedom to Make Sense project fearturing Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir, Donata Schoeller, Monika Catarina Lindner, Gugga Jóhannesdóttir and Ole Sandberg. I hope I didn't forget anyone! How to reflect, how to think, how to philosophize and explore the world from our embodied felt sense. Fills me with wonder! As Whitehead said, philosophy begins in wonder. Exactly what was missing when I went to university. What a difference this would have made!

I have brought Gendlin's philosophy of the implicit and the methods Focusing and Thinking at the Edge he developed into dialogue with Emotion-Focused Therapy and mindfulness, deepening and enhancing their integration in Emotion-Focused Mindfulness Therapy (EFMT), as well as empowering therapists and clients to integrate whatever forms of therapy, philosophy, spirituality or lifeways inspire them. I am also looking forward to writing more on how I have adapted EFMT as a community-based practice called Touching the Earth, forming a community of practice for psychotherapists and counsellors (https://ttemo.ca/). This practice community emerged out of my EFMT therapist training network back in 2019. I am looking forward to bringing Touching the Earth to the wider public.
https://youtu.be/tnYBvLTZyK8?si=hvoWg0dSflWOOKBO

New Short Documentary Introduces Methods of Embodied Critical Think...

06/14/2026

I'm looking forward to presenting on "Taking Up Whitehead's Invitation to Explore Our Immediate Experience" for Process Explorations: Conversations that Matter in the Center for Process Studies this Tuesday June 16 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Eastern).

I'm wanting to share my excitement in an accessible way for people who have some familiarity with Whitehead, but probably not with Gendlin's philosophy and its application Focusing, about the transformative experiential possibilities in crossing their work. Drawing on Gendlin experiential work, we will explore Whitehead's invitation to explore experience directly.

My very different presentation at the International Focusing Conference in Vienna developed for experienced Focusers a week ago on crossing Whitehead and Gendlin was very warmly received.

Bill Gayner will lead a guided contemplation using as a starting point an excerpt from Whitehead’s chapter on philosophic method in Adventures of Ideas. We will then reflect on and discuss the experience including perhaps how these kinds of micropractices can scale up to support professional sensi...

05/29/2026

Livestreaming from Vienna International Focusing Conference!

We are delighted to share that portions of the 30th International Focusing Conference in Vienna, Austria, will be livestreamed and recorded!

You can experience some of the daily sessions from the conference, beginning on Wednesday, June 3 with our Opening Ceremony.

To watch, you'll go to TIFI's YouTube channel. More information below.

If you plan to watch live and you are an experienced user of YouTube, we are still seeking a few people to act as moderators. If you'd like to help us in this way, please write us at [email protected].

This is a bilingual (German and English) conference, so some sessions will be in German -- if no language is listed, it is in English.

Find the schedule here: https://focusing.org/more/conference-schedule-vienna-2026

In addition to the livestreams, we plan to record 11 additional sessions. We will send information in the coming weeks about how you can watch those.

We look forward to you joining us from wherever you are in the world!

03/28/2026

Free online Touching the Earth mindfulness workshop
Sunday, April 12, 2026, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Facilitated by Bill Gayner and other members

Touching the Earth Mindfulness Ontario invites psychotherapists and counsellors to a free workshop introducing our innovative community of practice. This practice integrates standard mindfulness and transformative experiential and emotion-focused processes into meditation and how we share and explore meditation experience together. The approach includes befriending and welcoming home old defences and vulnerabilities in ways that empower people to better navigate situations and cultivate fulfilling lives.

Join us for an Introductory Workshop to learn more about Touching the Earth Mindfulness Ontario Introductory Workshop When: Free Online Workshop Sunday, April 12th, 2026 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (1-hour…

12/26/2025

12/07/2025

FREE Live Interview for Therapists & Mental Health Practitioners

Join us for an exclusive conversation with Dr. Antonio Pascual-Leone about his latest book, Everything I Know About Changing Emotions in Psychotherapy.

December 19, 2025
11:00AM – 12:00PM ET
Live Online
Hosted by Dr. Serine Warwar

In this special event, Dr. Pascual-Leone shares the story, ideas, and clinical insights behind his new book, offering practical tools to help therapists support deeper emotional change and deliver more effective interventions.

https://www.cpeh.ca/interview-changing-emotions-in-psychotherapy

12/02/2025

I am looking forward to co-facilitating this Focusing Roundtable discussion with Serge Prengel for TIFI members this Thursday on Focusing and mindfulness practices. If you are not a member, consider joining, it is worthwhile and affordable.

This is a gathering of Focusers who are interested in mindfulness. This includes people who consider Focusing to be their mindfulness practice and people who have another mindfulness or meditation practice as well.

11/21/2025

I'm looking forward to hearing what Judy Moore & Nikolaos Kypriotakis, editors of the wonderful two-volume Senses of Focusing, have to say.

The International Focusing Institute. Focusing Is A Process Grounded In Experiential Listening As Developed By Eugene Gendlin. It Is A Powerful Way Of Interacting With Innate Body-Felt Knowing And Leads To Mutual Respect, Authenticity And Compassion.

03/12/2025

Psychotherapists' and counsellors' work requires a continuous giving of oneself to others. For this reason, it is crucial to have a space to replenish and engage in meaningful self-care.

Psychotherapists, counsellors, and clinical students are invited to attend a FREE online Introduction to Touching the Earth Workshop on Sunday, April 13, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (with a one-hour lunch break) hosted by Touching the Earth Mindfulness Ontario. For more information or to register, go to https://ttemo.ca/upcoming-events/ or email me at [email protected]. Registration will be limited to 10 participants.

Touching the Earth is a way of practicing mindfulness in community that integrates all of EFT's transformational experiential and emotion-focused processes into meditation, journaling, and how we share, explore and reflect on meditation experience together. Touching the Earth adapts Emotion-Focused Mindfulness Therapy (Gayner, 2019, PCEP) for use by psychotherapists practicing mindfulness in community together.

Touching the Earth Mindfulness Ontario is a non-profit organization established in 2022. We are a group of regulated health professionals who have come together to meditate, heal, grow and support each other in our practice in empathic, responsive, compassionate, and appreciative ways.
https://ttemo.ca/upcoming-events/

Join us for an Introductory Workshop to learn more about Touching the Earth Mindfulness Ontario Introductory Workshop When: Free Online Workshop Sunday, April 13th, 2025 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (1-hour…

03/06/2025

Great article on highly sensitive people by Elaine Aron, the preeminent researcher on the topic. There's also a good documentary on the topic, Sensitive, with Elaine Aron and Alanis Morissette. High sensitivity is a wonderful trait, not a pathology, but comes with its own challenges.

Those with this little-known trait think more deeply and feel more empathy. But they also deal with significant challenges