Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy (FOT)
Humanistic psychology, as already mentioned, draws its theoretical roots from the philosophies of Phenomenology and Existentialism.
At the center of these two major philosophical movements of the 20th century is the unique and ever-changing human being, with a deeply personal and subjective way of perceiving and making meaning of the world and of oneself.
Therefore, Person-Centred and Focusing-Oriented Counselling/Psychotherapy is not concerned with defining and developing diagnostic tools or therapeutic techniques that would turn the human being into an object of research, interpretation, and analysis.
Instead, its primary focus is the cultivation of attitudes, ways of being, and qualities that enable the counsellor/psychotherapist to truly meet the client as another subject, in their uniqueness and otherness.
Through this kind of encounter, the client is supported in coming into contact with themselves, accepting their uniqueness, relating to themselves in a new way, and potentially becoming free from unwanted patterns of behaviour and/or distressing symptoms.
In the same way, the Person-Centred and Focusing-Oriented approach understands and positions itself in relation to other therapeutic approaches. It does not claim to hold an absolute truth about the human being, but rather offers a particular, unique perspective — one that carries both possibilities and limitations.
By bringing together these two approaches, where one evolves naturally from the other and together form a coherent therapeutic process, the client is given the opportunity to “meet” themselves with a new attitude, to expand their self-image, and to live in a more integrated and fulfilling way.