How Listening to the Body Changes Therapy

In the world of therapy, words are important—yet what if the deepest healing doesn’t begin with what we say, but with how we feel and experience what’s happening inside our bodies?

This is the heart of Focusing, a gentle, profound practice developed by philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin, in close dialogue with the organismic approach of Carl Rogers. It's not about concentrating harder or trying to get it right. It's about listening inwardly, in a certain way—curiously, compassionately, and with trust in our organism's knowing.

Carl Rogers and the Seeds of Inner Wisdom

Carl Rogers, founder of the Person-Centred Approach, believed deeply in the innate tendency of all beings to grow towards wholeness when conditions are right—what he called the actualising tendency. He placed radical trust in the client’s capacity to heal when met with empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard.

Yet Rogers also noticed that not all clients benefited equally from therapy. This puzzle became the soil from which Gendlin’s research grew.

Eugene Gendlin’s Breakthrough: What Makes Therapy Work?

Gendlin, working alongside Rogers at the University of Chicago, wanted to understand why some clients made lasting change in therapy while others seemed stuck. After analysing hundreds of recorded sessions, he made a surprising discovery:

It wasn’t what the therapist did alone that predicted success—it was what the client did internally.

Clients who paused, checked inward, and searched for a felt sense—a bodily-felt but not-yet-verbal knowing—were the ones who changed most deeply.

Out of this insight, Gendlin developed Focusing, a teachable, body-based practice that helps people become more in touch with their inner process. It can be done alone or within therapy, and it enhances the effectiveness of virtually any therapeutic approach.

What is the Felt Sense?

The felt sense isn’t just a “gut feeling.” It’s subtle and fresh—often vague at first, but rich with meaning. It arises when we give compassionate attention to a complex life situation without rushing to label it.

It might feel like:

“There’s something in me that’s not quite right about this conversation... I can’t explain it yet.”

Focusing invites us to stay with this inner “something” with patience, allowing it to unfold into images, words, memories, or shifts. It is not analysis—it is presence.

Focusing and Therapy Outcomes: What the Research Says

Gendlin's early research (1970s) already showed a strong link between Focusing ability and positive therapy outcomes. More recent studies have built on this:

  • Hendricks (2002) found that clients trained in Focusing were more likely to make sustained progress and integrate therapy gains.

  • Cornell & McGavin (2002) noted that Focusing deepens inner resilience and helps regulate emotions—key factors in trauma recovery and relational therapy.

  • A 2018 meta-analysis in Psychotherapy Research suggested that body-based therapies, especially those enhancing interoceptive awareness (like Focusing), improve long-term wellbeing and reduce relapse rates in depression and anxiety.

  • Recent work in neuropsychology (e.g., Porges’ Polyvagal Theory) supports Gendlin’s view that the body holds implicit knowledge and that safety, attunement, and inner awareness are central to transformation.

Why It Matters

Focusing isn’t a technique to apply to someone. It’s an invitation to deepen the relationship with oneself. When therapists support clients in accessing this embodied knowing, something sacred happens: the client becomes the authority on their own life.

For people who have been disconnected from their body due to trauma, societal pressure, or disembodied cultures, Focusing offers a way back home—to the wisdom within.

In person-centred practice, Focusing enhances presence, depth, and congruence. It brings warmth and humility to the therapeutic space, aligning beautifully with Rogers’ vision of healing as an unfolding process, not a fixed outcome.

A Gentle Invitation

Whether you are a therapist, a client, or simply someone on the path of healing, learning to sense into your felt experience can be transformative. As Gendlin wrote:

“Every bad feeling is potential energy toward a more right way of being if you give it space to move toward its rightness.”

Perhaps that’s what real change looks like—not forcing ourselves into shape, but listening kindly to the shape we already are becoming.


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