Welcome, I am Barbara Dickinson

 

After a distinguished 34-year career as an Executive in the U.S. Federal Reserve, I devote my energy to applying Focusing to business coaching, strategic planning, performance effectiveness, and organizational architecture. Focusing brings compassion, creativity, innovation, and bodily intuition directly into everyday living and leadership.

I was introduced to Focusing in 2006 and rapidly became an enthusiastic practitioner and advocate of both traditional Focusing and Thinking at the Edge (TAE). Certified as a Focusing Professional (CFP) and Trainer in 2009—studying Domain Focusing with Robert Lee—I have explored and integrated many facets of this practice over the years, including Inner Relationship Focusing, Whole Body Focusing, Biospirituality, and TAE. Today, I am also an official Coordinator-in-Training (The International Focusing Institute), dedicated to institutional development and expanding generative, accessible resources for Focusers worldwide.

Above all, Interactive Focusing has become central to my living, teaching, and professional work.

Exploring Interaction: The On-Demand Digital Course Suite

Using Interactive Focusing, we can dissolve interpersonal friction, form relational bonds, and build collaborative teams through empathic listening, mutual storytelling, and shared bodily resonance. Because this relational practice is so vital—yet historically lacked an accessible, self-paced learning pathway in the English language—I committed to bringing Drs. Janet Klein and Mary McGuire’s relational model into modern, durable reach.

This vision has come to life in Exploring Interaction, our comprehensive on-demand digital learning course, co-created with an international team including a curriculum designer, technological producer, and a dedicated team "Shepherd."

Explore the Exploring Interaction Digital Course Here

Now officially live to the public, this course represents an 18-month labor of love. It offers learners worldwide self-paced video modules, unscripted embodied demonstrations, audio-guided voiceovers, visual infographics, and a complete study manual. From its inception, the initiative has resonated across the globe: our ongoing, free twice-monthly Changes Meetings for Exploring Interaction connect practitioners internationally, while active translation tracks in Spanish and French are carrying this work into diverse cultural networks across Europe, North America, and South America.

Lineage, Teaching & Preserving Dr. Janet Klein’s Legacy

In addition to my certification as a Focusing Professional, I am a Certified Teacher of Interactive Focusing. I had the privilege of learning this directly from Master Teacher Masumi Maeda of Japan over years of dedicated partnership, later spending a year and a half assisting Masumi in translating her comprehensive, multi-module Interactive Focusing training program into English.

My commitment to sharing this practice has included studying with Interactive Focusing instructors worldwide, presenting at international conferences (including Lucerne, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria), and spearheading efforts to restore Dr. Janet Klein’s out-of-print writings and manuals so that her life’s work remains accessible to future generations of practitioners.

Our Exploring Interaction Resources can be found here. 

In partnership with Sandy Jahmi Burg, I also explore our mutual passion for bringing bodily listening to educators and youth through our initiative, Focusing Belongs in Schools. This work weaves together neuroscience, storytelling, social-emotional learning, and Dr. Eugene Gendlin’s deep desire to share the Philosophy of the Implicit with teachers and educational leaders.

 

About “Sundays with Gene”

From early 2011 to late 2012, I volunteered to the International Focusing Institute as a consultant on strategic planning. It was meant to be a short engagement, but it was extended by an invitation from Dr. Eugene Gendlin (“Gene”) to work with him on a list of ideas he had for projects. That time is one of the most valuable experiences of my life.

Whenever I spoke of my experience of working with Gene, I was asked “What was he like as a person?” Many people had only seen him as a presenter or speaker, or had never encountered him in person at all. I started to write about my experiences, and discovered there was enough to say to produce an essay. 

“Sundays with Gene -- A Memoir” is the result. I am delighted at the opportunity to post my essay here at LearnFocusing.org, through the kindness of Sandy Jahmi Burg.

[Link to the PDF]

Sundays with Gene - A Memoir Part 1 of 3 Audio

Sundays with Gene - A Memoir Part 2 of 3 Audio

Sundays with Gene - A Memoir Part 3 of 3 Audio

 

Reflections on the Memoir

“It’s a huge piece of work! And a fascinating read. You’ve found a way to write with respect and love while including the frustrations in a non-blaming way. As someone who had conversations with Gene, I found your experience helped me to make sense of my experience. And I thank you. … It is valuable, useful, fascinating, and generous.”

— Ann Weiser Cornell, Author, Speaker, and Focusing Teacher

“Thank you very much for writing this memoir. It’s one of the best pieces about Gene I’ve come across—his strengths and his weaknesses, his genius and his failings.”

— Peter Afford, Focuser since 1984, TIFI Coordinator, and Founding Member of the British Focusing Association

(The opinions expressed in “Sundays with Gene” are strictly those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or policies of LearnFocusing.org. This work is copyrighted © Barbara J. Dickinson, 2024. Brief passages may be quoted with full citation and attribution. Reproduction of more than one paragraph requires written permission of the author in advance of publication.)