Home What's New Site Map Feedback Search NREP

[ Research Studies ] [ Research Instruments ] [ Research Methodology ] [ Research-Based Therapy Protocols ] [ Promising Leads for Research ]

 

 

SUBJECT NUMBER _______________
SESSION NUMBER _______________
TRAINER ______________________
2ND RATER ____________________

'Clearing A Space' Check List
by Doralee Grindler-Katonah

See also:

Clearing A Space Protocol

Scoring the Clearing a Space Checklist

Focusing: An Adjunct Treatment for Adaptive Recovery from Cancer. Grindler Katonah, D. and Flaxman, J. (2003).

____  NO FELT SENSE

  1. I am sure that the person did not locate a felt level of experiencing.
  2. The subject's description was basically a description of body sensations.
  3. The felt sense can only be located in the extremities of the body.
  4. I am unsure as to whether or not the person located a felt level of experiencing
  5. Other

____  FELT SENSE - the location of a bodily felt level of a problem or experience

  1. A description of a vague and unclear something which is felt.
  2. Silence and then an acknowledgement of a concern (distinct from the list of problems in the head).
  3. When asked to check to see if it is there or 'right', there is a time lapse, there is a 'yes'.
  4. The person 'knows' it is there, but cannot say what the content of the felt sense is.
  5. There is a physiological change such as head nodding, sighing, voice sounds calmer or slower.
  6. The identified felt sense is definitely felt in the torso area.
  7. Other

____  NO HANDLE

  1. I am certain that the subject did not discover a handle for any felt sense.
  2. I am uncertain as to whether or not the person discovered a handle for any felt sense.

____  FELT SENSE WITH A HANDLE OR A CLEAR SENSE OF WHAT IT IS ABOUT - a word, phrase, image that exactly describes the felt sense after resonating.

  1. A time lapse occurred before the naming (as distinct from something that came right away).
  2. The person discarded some things before settling on one.
  3. After resonating, the person acknowledges the fit.
  4. The person did a self-check and says something like, 'Yes, that's right.'
  5. The trainer just repeated the phrase, there was no disagreement, and the subject showed a physiological indicator of release.
  6. There was a physiological confirmation of the 'fit' - head nodding, sighing, fingers moving, muscle twitch.
  7. The subject expressed the same phrase repeatedly, indicating its handle quality.

____  DOES NOT SIT WITH ANY FELT SENSE

  1. I am certain that the person did not silently attend in a 'being with' way (keeping it company, digesting what is there, receiving what is there) to any felt sense with a handle or to a felt sense after something came.
  2. The person did not sit with a felt sense because of their strong negative reactions to it, such as, 'I can't stand this place' or 'I want to get rid of this place'.
  3. I am uncertain as to whether or not the person silently attended in a 'being with' way to any felt sense with a handle or after something new came.

____  SITS WITH FELT SENSE AFTER the STEP OF GETTING A HANDLE

  1. The person is in touch with a particular felt sense - either a problem, a felt sense that develops after putting something out, or a felt sense of a cleared space - and then in a gentle, friendly way silently attends to the felt sense without doing anything else (like fighting it or wanting to get rid of it).
  2. I have observed indications such as eyes turned inwards literal silence, or reluctance to move on.
  3. I observed physiological changes such as a softer, calmer voice.
  4. The person describes their experience by saying things like, 'It's easier now' 'It's just there'.
  5. The person has some negative reactions to the sense but can still just attend to it. An indication of this would be the person saying, "It's hard to do."

____  DOES NOT MOVE OUT A FELT SENSE

  1. I am certain that the person did not move out or make a place for the concern in such a way that included the felt sense.
  2. I am uncertain as to whether or not the person made a place for a concern because the imagery is used more directly and literally thus possibly becoming disengaged from the felt sense.
  3. The person reports that the felt sense 'is gone', an indication that they may have just lost it.
  4. I am otherwise uncertain.

____  MOVES OUT ONE FELT SENSE

  1. The person creates or places same metaphorical space between oneself and the felt sense of the problem.
  2. The felt sense is 'out there' because the subject describes himself as now feeling different inside (more calm, lighter, laughter).
  3. The felt sense is described as being 'half-way out'.

____  DOES NOT MOVE OUT MORE THAN ONE FELT SENSE

  1. I am certain that the person did not move out or make a place for more than one concern in such a way that included the felt sense.
  2. I am uncertain as to whether or not the person made a place for more than one concern because the imagery is used more directly and literally thus possibly becoming disengaged from the felt sense.
  3. The person reports that the felt sense 'is gone', an indication that they may just have lost it.
  4. I am otherwise uncertain that the person moved out more than one felt sense.

____  MOVES OUT MORE THAN ONE FELT SENSE

  1. The person creates or places some metaphorical space between himself and more than one felt sense of a problem.
  2. More than one felt sense is 'out there' because the subject describes himself as feeling different inside each time.
  3. One or more felt sense is described as being 'half-way out'.

____  DOES NOT DISCOVER A BACKGROUND FEELING

  1. The instruction was not given.
  2. I am certain that the person did not find a background feeling.
  3. The person did not understand the instruction.
  4. The person went directly to a cleared space.
  5. I am uncertain because the person used the term outside the context of the guided instructions.
  6. I am otherwise uncertain.

____  DISCOVERS A BACKGROUND FEELING - a subliminal feeling that is always there in the background and is in the way of a 'cleared space'.

  1. Adjectives such as 'always anxious', 'always rushing', 'the sick person' are used.
  2. It has the quality of 'this is just the way I am'.
  3. The words of description are positive but they have a sense of forcedness or restriction, a superego expectation, or a script quality.
  4. This is a general felt sense, not one that refers to a specific problem.
  5. A sense of relief is expressed as it is located.

____  DOES NOT EXPERIENCE A CLEARED SPACE

  1. The instruction was not given.
  2. I am certain that the person did not discover a cleared space.
  3. I am uncertain because this person describes herself as 'having no problems' or 'always fine'.
  4. I am otherwise uncertain.

____  EXPERIENCES A CLEARED SPACE

  1. I heard a description of a felt sense that reflects an experience of well-being, calmness, peace, vitality, energy, creativity, goodness, release, or an empty place free from problems.
  2. There is a solidness to the description meaning that the person was able to remain in this place for several (20) seconds.
  3. The person reached this place after putting down problems.
  4. The person touched a cleared space and then got in touch with a problem.
  5. The person got to a cleared space via another route than following the focusing steps, and the cleared space is a felt sense.

____  EXPERIENCES A CLEARED SPACE WITH NO HANDLE

  1. There is no indication that the person worked to find a handle to describe the cleared space.
  2. I am uncertain as to whether or not the person found a handle for the cleared space, because although words were used there was no indication of resonating or checking.
  3. I am otherwise uncertain.

____  EXPERIENCES A CLEARED SPACE WITH A HANDLE

  1. The person found the exact words or image to describe the felt sense of the cleared space because they resonated and then confirmed that there was an exact fit.
  2. Because the handle was discovered the cleared space opened further and was experienced as more solid.

____  DID NOT EXPERIENCE A SHIFT - an overall change in the understanding of a problem or concern that changes the bodily felt sense and the cognitive awareness.

  1. I am certain that the person did not experience a shift any time during their process.
  2. I am uncertain that the person experienced a shift because the words used were too vague, such as 'this is different.'
  3. The person had more vague "action steps" which repeat the focusing steps, such as "I guess I need to sit with it more" that are NOT indicators of a shift.
  4. I am otherwise uncertain.

____  EXPERIENCES A SHIFT

  1. The person articulates a change in a problem description that includes an aspect of surprise or discovery such as 'I never knew that I could be without that feeling of always Rushing', or 'I have this sense now that I can take care of myself.'
  2. The person experiences new material or articulates a new relationship with the problem. For example: "Oh, I didn’t realize how alone I feel with this problem." (NOTE: Just relief at putting something out is not in itself a shift.)
  3. The emergence of small action steps are expressed. For example: "Now, I really want to share my feelings about the divorce with others. It feels like this would help." The action steps discussed have to be more unique and specific to the issues and the person.
  4. The experience of a shift can occur at any point in the process.

For more on Focusing go to http://www.focusing.org/

 

 

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ What's New ] [ Site Map ] [ Feedback ] [ Search NREP ]

Send mail to experiential-researchers@focusing.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2000 Network for Research on Experiential Psychotherapies
Last modified: March 22, 2001