About this episode

The episode explores Eugene Gendlin's Focusing method and its implications for healing and somatic psychology.

In this episode, Nikolas and Michael unpack Focusing, the therapeutic method developed by philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin out of his research with Carl Rogers' client-centered therapy. What began as an attempt to isolate why some therapy sessions succeed and others fail became a powerful practice that has sold half a million copies and helped bridge the gap between the talk-therapy era and today's somatic approaches. At the heart of the conversation is the "felt sense" — that nebulous, hard-to-pin-down space between sensation and emotion where we actually make meaning. The two explore how to get in touch with it, why we resist uncomfortable experiences and store them in the body, and how meaning follows experience rather than leading it. Along the way they walk through the six steps of Focusing, compare it to EMDR and Somatic Experiencing, and dig into a bigger question: what does it actually mean to be wounded, and what does it mean to heal? A thoughtful, exploratory conversation for anyone interested in somatic psychology, trauma processing, and the body's natural capacity to unwind itself — no re-traumatization required. Peter Levine clip mentioned in the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nikolas Haag, Michael Wally

Topics covered

• Focusing
• somatic psychology
• trauma processing
• felt sense
• healing

Keywords

• Focusing
• felt sense
• somatic approaches
• trauma
• healing
• Carl Rogers
• Eugene Gendlin

More episodes of Expanding Consciousness

• Spirituality vs. Psychology: Are They at Odds or Two Halves of the Same Path? | Ep. 84 · June 17, 2026 · 1h 37m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Expanding Consciousness podcast page.