Episode 196: The Power of Presence with Jan Winhall M.S.W.

Jan Winhall M.S.W. R.S.W. F.O.T. is a Registered Clinical Social Worker and Coordinator with the Focusing Institute in New York City. She is a member of the International Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy Association and Director of Focusing On Borden, a training centre where she teaches Focusing and supervises therapists. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer with the University of Toronto Master of Social Work program.

Jan has worked in the area of trauma and addiction for over 30 years. Early on she was drawn to Gene Gendlin’s work called Focusing, a contemplative practice that facilitates a state of integration between mind, emotion and body awareness. This embodied state gives fresh direction in dealing with life problems and wounded places. It can be taught in 6 steps and is practiced in partnerships. Focusing Oriented Therapy provides a profound relational context offering healing experiences.

Jan has written a chapter, ‘Understanding and Treating Addiction with the Felt Sense Experience Model’ (Greg Madison Editor, Emerging Practice in Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy, Innovative Theory and Applications (178-193). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Her Felt Sense Experience Model offers a departure from the traditional pathologizing framework in treating trauma and addiction, emphasizing the power of Focusing as a tool for attaining emotional regulation.