Measuring the effectiveness of Focusing-Oriented-Coaching
Focusing is a relatively new concept in the world of coaching, yet there are many commonalities between the two which makes their crossing exciting and full of possibility. Both Focusing Oriented Therapy and Coaching are forward moving ways of working, in which the core belief is that the client has their own answers and the coach/listener uses the skills of deep listening, to support naturally occurring change and forward moving energy.
MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FOCUSING-ORIENTED COACHING
To evidence the effectiveness of Focusing-Oriented coaching, Báirbre Meehan undertook a self-funded five-year research project. Working with GPs, psychotherapists and word of mouth referrals, Báirbre supported and monitored Mental Well Being improvements in over 100 people across one-thousand one-on-one coaching hours.
The objective of the project was to measure the impact of a short-term Focusing-Oriented Coaching approach on the Mental Well Being (MWB) of participants, individually and collectively. In doing so, the research served to establish how best to cultivate practices of awareness and understand which tools and strategies best support individuals to assess, manage and maintain their own MWB.
Using a quantitative MWB measurement tool, the Mental Well Being of each participant was assessed at the start, end and six months after the intervention, enabling us to measure the individual and collective MWB change over time.
Results of the 8-hour coaching intervention showed a 70% improvement in collective MWB at the end of the intervention, with the improvement being maintained both six months and two years after the intervention period. The following graph shows the results.
As significant as the above measurements were, the testimonials from participants were even more important. A sample are shown here. For more testimonials from research participants and from referring professional, visit Báirbre’s website https://www.pause.ie/research/
Báirbre’s coaching journey began 12 years ago, at a time when her personal-development journey led her to Focusing. Her coaching practice is informed by 25 years in people management in roles such as CEO, organisational/leadership development and finance director … and many more years in the roles of daughter, mother, wife, sister, friend, coach etc..
Focusing-Oriented Coaching is Báirbre’s passion and she is devoted to developing and sharing it. Báirbre teaches Focusing-Oriented Coaching programs to coaches and is a coach supervisor.
If you are a coach and interested in learning how to integrate Focusing into your practice or if you are looking for a coach who works in a Focusing way, contact Báirbre at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A Retreat on The Joy of Samhain.
A Retreat on The Joy of Samhain. Offered by: Deirdre Ní Chinneide, Fr Philip Baxter and John Keane at Ards Friary, November 2024.
A celebration of music, nature and the body as it is sensed from the inside.
Written by: John Keane.
This weekend retreat explored the Celtic Celebration of Samhain using the themes of Darkness and Light to appreciate the changing nature of reality. 
During the weekend we explored the nature of this change and ways of resourcing ourselves to meet it and grow with it.
We explored how our usual thought processes can be an obstacle to this journey, preventing us from appreciating our intimate connection to reality and nature.
Celtic spirituality, music, nature, our own bodies (and their innate sense of Love and Affection) offer doorways into living freshly into the changes and challenges of life.
In Celtic Ireland over 2,000 years ago, Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). At Samhain, the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest.
Food was prepared for the living and the dead. Food for the ancestors who were in no position to eat it, was ritually shared with the less well off.
Christianity incorporated the honouring of the dead into the Christian calendar with All Saints (All Hallows) on November 1st, followed by All Souls on November 2nd.
During our time together, we were guided through the woodlands of Ards by an expert woodsman who assisted us in appreciating the natural environment. This allowed us to sense into the rhythm of nature as it utilises the opportunity of winter/darkness to prepare itself for the coming of summer/light.
We had a celebration on the beach in Ards – connecting to the water and its natural ebb and flow. Sensing our connection into that dimension of the natural environment.
The theme of light was emphasised in the lighting of the fire in the living room in Ards, where we shared stories, and came together to share food and wine.
An exploration of the Celtic calendar assisted us in appreciating the difference between linear time – and a sense of time that is sensitive to the ongoing rhythm to nature.
All of this was interspersed with BioSpiritual Focusing exercises and the beautiful music and poetry offered by Deirdre.
We also took the opportunity to remember those who have passed before us, and how they are especially present to us at this “threshold” time of year.
As we move forward, we are working to incorporate the main Celtic festivals into the retreats we will offer in Ards Friary. The links between Franciscan Spirituality, BioSpiritual Focusing and Celtic Spirituality and music offer a fertile foundation to people seeking to embody the interconnectedness of all living processes. This will allow participants to find their own place in this ongoing process.
Creative Corner: Soap Bubble Turned to Ice
All conditions must be right to create this temporary “art installation” and we might wonder what is the motivation behind it?
It might be just to witness how this thinnest of membranes develops into a thin sphere of ice which shelters what is inside from the outside elements. It might break at any instant, letting out the warm air that is trapped inside, but for now, it is completely and wonderfully whole.
It reminds us of the thin “outer” layer we gently break open when we reach towards the felt sense that lies within. The breaking open of this “membrane of protection”, allows us to visit and welcome all that is present inside and to bring it to our Focusing practice.
As we reflect on this photo, we might just bring our attention to the fact that this ice bubble would not exist without our warm breath to form it.
- Is there something in me that is waiting for my warm breath to give it expression and form?Ice bubble: oil, soap and water solution + sub-zero weather + warm breath.
Denise Durocher, January 2025
BOOK REVIEW: Wild Creature Mind by Steve Biddulph
BOOK REVIEW: Wild Creature Mind by Steve Biddulph Publisher: Bluebird; Main Market edition (12 Sept. 2024)
Weaving together Ian McGilchrist’s take on neuroscience and Focusing, I found this to be an excellent book and one I have recommended over and over again.
The author has a deep appreciating for focusing and explicates it well, perhaps especially for newcomers. Here’s an excerpt: “Tell it both ‘welcome’ and ‘thank you’. Soften around it to give it room. Try out a word or two to describe it. This word or two will never be quite right on first go. Try a better word, and listen to see if your felt sense says, ‘Yes.’ And then, in the way that we sometimes have to just abandon control in order for anything magical to happen – to dance, to make love with abandon, to laugh, to play great music – you just let what comes come.“
Written by Clare Myatt
