Fot cERtIFICATION
February 2024: FULL
Next Start Date: Fall, 2026
This is a Focusing Oriented Therapy (FOT) Certification program for existing Registered Psychotherapists in Ontario and exsisting registered psychotherapy professionals elsewhere.
There will be learning, experiencing and teaching opportunites for you during the program.
Frequency of Meetings:
1 meeting per week (except July, Aug, and the last 2 weeks of December).
Additional hours with your partner and teaching more novice students are above and beyond our regular meetings.
Typical commitment each week will require 2 - 3 hours of your time.
Duration of program:
For new students: Approximately 3 years & 200 hours total
For previous practicum students who were supervised by me during your placement: Approximately 2 addtional years & 200 hours total
FOT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:
Core Courses:
1) Introduction to Focusing (small Focusing book)
2) Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy: A Manual of the Experiential Method
3) Presencing
4) Deidentification
5) Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning
6) Introduction to TAE
7) Introduction to A Process Model (exploring one concept of each student’s choice)
8) Introduction to Focusing and Dreams
Crossing with Other Modalities
1) Parts, Timeline, Ego States
2) EMDR, CBT, DBT
3) Writing (Gestalt, Narrative)
4) Polyvagal Felt Sense Model (Jan Winhall's book: Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model)
5) Imago, Dialoguing & Safe Conversations in an embodied way with the Focusing Attitude (Hendrix & Hunt couples work)
Self - Practice Focusing Partnership
Throughout the program, students will use Focusing as a self-practice. You will form a partnership with another student which will be ongoing throught the 3 years of this program.
Teaching Practicums
Practicum I: Teaching partnerships to new students by explaining, demonstrating and leading them in their partnership
Practicum II: Participating in new student learning via FOT Book Club
Practicum III: Teaching master's students via self-created workshops
Recordings/Live Evaluation
To eveluate your progress, some live evaluations or recordings demonstrating your FOT skills will be required.
Final Paper
One final paper (utlizing TAE skills learned in the program) to encapsulate and synthesize your learnings over the course of the program (4 - 10 pages APA style)
Involvement with TIFI
To become an FOT is to become involved in the community, but just a minimal amount of imvolvment will be required. For example, attending a TIFI offered webinar, or offering your own Hightlight to the institute. https://focusing.org/more/focusing-highlights-series
Costs and Additional Notes:
A minimum amount of students per cohort is 4. The maximum is 6.
The fee per class is $45CAD (therefore, in a month where we have 4 classes, it will cost $180 for that month). You will also be required to fulfil your additional partnership and teaching hours, but these hours are not billed.
You will be required to register wtih TIFI, paying FOT-in-training dues during your program at the rate of $55USD per year
Upon completion of your program, to get your certificiate through TIFI, there is a one time registration fee of $375USD (this includes the registration fee for that year)
Yearly dues with TIFI for subsequent years will be $125USD
Please find the TIFI fee schedue here (Canada is in group 2): https://focusing.org/membership/schedule-prices-membership-certification-and-pfp-award-effect-january-1-2022
One additional note:
We will attempt to make this as collaborative of an approach as possible, so we do not need to complete these courses in the order listed above. In addition, if there are areas of interest you have, there is a likelihood that we can incorporate them into the process, or create an additional course to explore your area of interest.
Next FOT Certification Program Start Date
Fall 2026
Please email for details: nicole@nicolemitchell.net
