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Upcoming FOAT Trainings, Workshops, and Events
Focusing Initiatives International Webinars (FREE)
4 Workshops: September 2, September 23, October 14, and November 4 3:30pm - 5:00pm PT (Time zone converter)
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®): Tools for Resilience-Building
Presented by Laury Rappaport, Ally Hernandez Publico , Angie Parmer, and Ma Su Htwe.
Open to all levels of experience in FOAT, Focusing, and Expressive Arts!
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) integrates Gendlin’s Focusing with user-friendly methods for creative expression. Laury Rappaport, along with her advanced FOAT® trainees will introduce 4 Theme-based FOAT® exercises that are designed to cultivate resilience, access the body’s wisdom, and unfold our inherent creativity for positive change. Each workshop will include a brief grounding/attunement, warm-up to arts expression, main FOAT® exercise, and sharing in a Focusing way.
Our intention is to build a supportive, welcoming community for practice, learning, and connection! With FOAT®, the practice deepens over time– feel free to attend 1 or more:
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September 2: Peaceful Place
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September 23: Focusing Attitude for You
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October 14: Inner Advisor and “Paper Zine” Project
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November 4: Source of Strength
Nourishing Your Creativity Series
Friday, September 12, 2025 1 - 3:30pm PDT / 4 - 6:30pm EDT / Time zone converter
Rip, Cut, Fold – Exploring the Medium of Paper through Process-Oriented Artmaking
Presented by Angel Thompson
Paper is often seen as a supporting medium; the surface where art happens. In this workshop paper will take the spotlight. We will investigate its nature, expanding our understanding of its properties and characteristics, and explore three techniques for working with it: ripping, cutting, and folding. Each technique will offer a different ratio of spontaneity and control, expanding your artistic repertoire for self-expression. Participants will be encouraged to focus on the act of artmaking, allowing the final products to stand as evidence of the experience.
Bundle together with the Watercolor workshop (below) to save $10!
Nourishing Your Creativity Series
Friday, October 3, 2025 1 - 3:30pm PDT / 4 - 6:30pm EDT / Time zone converter
Wash, Dry, Resist – Exploring the Medium of Watercolor through Process-Oriented Artmaking
Presented by Angel Thompson
Watercolor is a medium that makes no promise of predictability. In this workshop we will expand our understanding of the properties and characteristics of the medium, leaning into the opportunity watercolors offer the artist for letting go of perfection. Participants will explore a variety of painting techniques. Each technique will offer a varying balance of serendipity and structure, expanding your artistic repertoire for self-expression. Participants will be encouraged to focus on the act of artmaking, allowing the final products to stand as evidence of the experience.
Bundle together with the Paper workshop (above) to save $10!
Expressive Therapies VIRTUAL Summit 2025
Thursday, November 6, 2025 2:00 - 5:00pm ET
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts: Cultivating Embodied Self-Compassion
Presented by Doreen Meister, MA, LMFT; Karen Quatsoe, BFA; and Lynn Pollock, MA, LMHC, REAT
Beneficial for all counselors and therapists, arts facilitators, educators, and coaches!
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) is a mindfulness and somatic approach, developed by Laury Rappaport, that integrates the felt sense and the body's wisdom with the expressive arts. It is based on Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing method, an evidence-based mind-body approach that leads to growth and change. This didactic and experiential workshop provides an overview of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®), including its history and development, foundational principles, how to access the body’s wisdom through the felt sense and express it through the arts, and learn one of the FOAT® Themed exercises designed to cultivating self-compassion. Experiential exercises will teach:
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The main concepts of Focusing: Focusing Attitude, felt sense, and handle/symbol
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A theme-directed FOAT® exercise, “Focusing Attitude for You”, that teaches how to access a felt sense of self-compassion: symbolize it as an image, gesture, sound, word, or phrase; and express it through the arts.
An intermodal writing process will deepen the experience of accessing the inner knowing and identifying next steps. This FOAT exercise can be applied as a self-care practice for practitioners, as well as a method for working with others. FOAT can be applied to all clinical contexts, as well as in nonclinical contexts (e.g education, coaching, health).
Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB, SWNYS, NY LMHC, NY LCAT, NY LMFT
Roots, Branches, and Wings Series
Monday, November 10, 2025 3:00 - 5:00pm PST / 6:00 - 8:00pm EST / Click here for your time zone
Body Mapping with Guided Drawing: A Sensorimotor Art Therapy Approach
Presented by Cornelia Elbrecht, MA, AThR, SATh, SEP
Open to all levels of experience in FOAT, Focusing, and Expressive Arts
This presentation provides an introduction to Guided Drawing®– an approach developed by Cornelia Elbrecht that uses rhythmic bilateral repetition to explore emotions and felt sensations in the body as flowing or blocked internal movements. Trauma manifests physiologically as bracing patterns, tension, pain, or numbness, accompanied by strong emotions. In Guided Drawing®, the focus is not on the story of what happened, but on the implicit responses needed in that present moment. The process is self-guided, which is profoundly empowering for the client.
Clients draw their involuntary motor impulses with both hands and closed eyes on large sheets of paper increasingly focusing on the movements needed to ease the felt tension or pain. Being able to apply a ‘self-massage’ or to complete a thwarted impulse to act can be surprisingly effective. The therapist has the option to introduce archetypal shapes as interventions to structure and support this bottom-up approach.
This presentation is both didactic and experiential. After presenting the core concepts of Guided Drawing®, Cornelia will teach three archetypal shapes that serve to resource clients, along with time for a self-directed experience of Guided Drawing®. There will be opportunities for sharing and question-answer.
Ongoing FOAT Trainings
FOAT® Training Program
Mondays, April 7 - June 25, 2025 3:00pm - 6:30pm PT / Click here for your time zone
Level 4: Integration and Application of FOAT into Practice
Facilitated by Laury Rappaport, Ph.D., MFT, REAT, ATR-BC and FOAT Faculty
Prerequisite: Completion of Level 3: Advanced FOAT Practice Skills and Applications
This course provides advanced training and supervision in FOAT. Trainees continue their FOAT Application Project with a goal towards completion, and create a practicum for practicing FOAT with others. Individual and group supervision are provided. FOAT Partnerships and/or Trios with coaching are integrated to further refine skills, increase competence, and support self-awareness and self-care through FOAT. Readings, videos, and other resources are integrated into the training, along with an individualized Learning Plan to support each trainee’s unique interests. For information on our FOAT® Training Program, leading to certification, click here.
Eligible for CE Hours, more information coming soon!
Updates for FOAT® Training Program:
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Introduction to Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) Self-Study is available– Completion fulfills the prerequisite for Level 1.
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Eligible for 3 CE Hours
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Level 1: Foundations and Approaches of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®): The training group is now closed!
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Level 2: FOAT Facilitation and Partnership Skills: The current training group is now closed!
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Level 3: Advanced FOAT Practice Skills and Applications: The training group is now closed!
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Level 4: Integration and Application of FOAT into Practice: The training group is now closed!
FOAT® Training Program
We are excited to launch our newly updated FOAT® Training Program! The training includes all of the previous content but it is now streamlined into 4 levels instead of 6. There is additional supervision and FOAT Coaching to strengthen the online learning format. In addition, awards and Certifications can be earned after Levels 2 and 4 respectively.
For more information, including course descriptions, costs, and more, visit our FOAT® Training Program Page!
