Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF)
Inner Relationship Focusing is a therapeutic approach and process developed by Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin, as a continuation of the Focusing work of Eugene Gendlin.
It is a process of emotional healing and a gentle, attentive way of accessing inner experience, supporting a natural flow of inner energy and a more open, positive movement forward in one’s life.
Like Focusing, IRF places great emphasis on the way we approach the process, allowing us to relate to all parts of ourselves — including those that are in conflict, in denial, or pushed away as “unacceptable” parts that we may feel make our lives difficult and wish to get rid of.
All of this takes place with the body as our guide.
By bringing a certain awareness and allowing these parts to relate to us in a new way — and by listening to what they wish to communicate — an inner space and atmosphere is created that supports movement and change along the path of healing.
Emphasis is placed on the Self as a quality of Presence, one that can relate to the different parts of ourselves without judgment, with a gentle and attentive curiosity, getting to know even the unknown or difficult aspects of our inner experience in a warm and friendly way.
A central aspect of the process is to come to know and give voice to our emotional experience from the perspective of these parts of ourselves.
The information that comes into our awareness can often surprise us and is always moving.
By pausing from the flow of everyday life and our habitual inner processes, we are invited into a different kind of encounter with our body and all that it holds — embracing all aspects of ourselves, even those we may not yet know we have.