Transformational Focusing Experiences

A Thematic Analysis of Memoirs

Bibliographic Data

ID9021720
AuthorsDoralee Grindler Katonah (Private Practice, Woodland, CA, USA, corresponding author), Soti Grafanaki (Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), Kevin C Krycka (Seattle University, Seattle, WA, USA), Mary V McDonald (Independent Scholar, Sacramento, CA, USA)
Year2018
Volume63
Issue3
Pages381-409
Publication date2018-09-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022167818801553
OpenAlexW2894246925
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited22

Transformation is a profound change process culminating in a fundamental shift in one’s sense of self and way of being-in-the-world. Research on transformation is limited, particularly transformation as a holistic, bodily felt process. A process called Focusing was identified by Gendlin (1981), who formulated how the body participates in personal change and meaning creation. The aim of our study was to explore the characteristics and qualities of transformation by examining 19 published memoirs of people who had gone through a transformational experience via Focusing. Two questions guided the inquiry: What kind of inner environment is necessary for transformation? What are the characteristics and qualities of transformative experiences that unfold through a Focusing-oriented process to weave together a “new kind of person?” Researchers conducted a thematic analysis of the memoirs through a new qualitative method called Felt Sense Inquiry. Results revealed five themes: expanded bodily self, attuned attention, novelty, interactive exchange, and elastic time. Results suggest a way of experiencing that does not divide, but rather connects the person to a unified felt process that unfolds on its own. Future research comparing Focusing with other practices that seem to promote transformation may reveal “common factors” of transformation

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Literature · Meaning (existential · Memoir · Nomothetic · Nomothetic and idiographic · Novelty · Pedagogy · Process (computing · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Transformation (genetics · Transformational leadership · Transformative learning · Art Therapy and Mental Health · Child Therapy and Development · Computer Science · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Psychology · Social Psychology

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