The Living Process. Practices in Experience and Existence Christiane Geiser on Before focusing was Focusing on The Living Process with Greg Madison
Oct 4, 2025
Christiane Geiser, an experienced Swiss psychotherapist and educator in person-centered therapy, dives deep into the evolution of Focusing, highlighting her early collaborations with colleagues around Gendlin's teachings. She shares her initial struggles with 'nothingness' in her practice, which sparked a transformative curiosity. Christiane also elucidates the difference between 'body-in-situation' and literal interpretations, and discusses the importance of recognizing structure-bound processes in therapy. Her reflections on aging and maintaining foundational qualities amid professionalism are particularly poignant.
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Becoming Their Own Teachers
- Christiane learned focusing collaboratively with colleagues by reading, experimenting, translating and teaching together.
- She describes becoming "our own teachers" through repeated practice and discussion.
Learning Is Iterative And Relational
- Christiane found focusing both named things she already knew and introduced novel, energising ideas from Gendlin.
- The group's sustained curiosity and iterative learning kept the method alive and evolving.
From Nothingness To Curiosity
- Christiane recounts struggling with focusing personally: her sessions produced a persistent "nothingness" for two years.
- A colleague's simple question — "What is this nothing like?" — opened a new way to engage with it.
