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FOAT® Training Program: Overview
2023 - 2026
Training Description
The Focusing and Expressive Arts Institute provides introductory, foundational, intermediate, and advanced levels of FOAT leading to:
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Certification as a FOAT® Practitioner or FOAT® Facilitator (granted by the FOAT Institute)
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Certification as a Focusing Trainer (Professional or Therapist): Specialization in FOAT® (granted by The International Focusing Institute)
Trainings are tailored to 2 applications:
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Clinical: Psychotherapeutic applications (e.g. art therapy, expressive arts, psychology, counseling, marriage and family therapy, social work, etc.)
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Non-clinical: Such as coaching, body-work professions, community, organizational, ministry/spiritual, self-care, health, personal growth, and wellbeing
Training Sequence
The FOAT® Training Program begins with introductory courses that provide an overview of the main theory and practices of FOAT– and help you to see if you are interested in further training. Our trainings are designed so that you can progress through them based on your interests. After successfully completing each level, you may decide whether or not you'd like to continue to the next. We trust that your felt sense will guide you to take the levels of training and/or certification that feel right.
Note: Progression through each level and certification is competency-based. A Certificate of Completion is granted after the successful completion of each level.
Introductory FOAT® Training:
The following courses are approved as introductory FOAT® trainings:
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Introduction to Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) || 3 CEs
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Workshops and courses presented at educational institutions or conferences
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FOAT® Tools II (Live Zoom participation)
Additionally, this may be fulfilled with permission of the Training Director (click here to email).
Foundational FOAT® Training:
After successfully completing the competencies and requirements for Level 2, trainees will be eligible for the “Proficiency in Focusing Partnership Award” (granted by The International Focusing Institute– requires additional TIFI membership and processing fees). Click here for full award information.
Intermediate FOAT® Training:
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Level 3: Advanced FOAT Practice Skills and Applications
Advanced FOAT® Training and Certification:
Note: Prior to Dual Certification as a FOAT® Practitioner/FOAT® Facilitator and Focusing Professional: Specialization in FOAT®, trainees must document 50 hours of Expressive Arts learning. This can be attained through in-person/online courses or workshops, and may be prior to or during the FOAT® Training Program.
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Level 4: FOAT Practicum and Supervision
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Successful completion of Level 4 and competence evaluation leads to Dual Certification as:
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Certification as a FOAT® Practitioner or FOAT® Facilitator (granted by the Focusing and Expressive Arts Institute).
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Certification as a Focusing Professional: Specialization in FOAT® (granted by The International Focusing Institute).
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For those interested in becoming a Certified Focusing-Oriented Therapist (FOT): Specialization in FOAT® (granted by The International Focusing Institute), additional supervision is required.
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Level 5: FOAT Train-the-Trainer
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Successful completion of Level 5 and competence evaluation leads to Certification as a Focusing Trainer: Specialization in FOAT® (granted by The International Focusing Institute).
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For those interested in becoming a Certified FOAT® Trainer (granted by the Focusing and Expressive Arts Institute), additional mentoring and supervision is required.
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FOAT® Training Faculty
All faculty for this program are Certified FOAT® Practitioners (FOAT Institute) and Certified Focusing Trainers: Specialization in FOAT® (TIFI).
Lead Faculty and Trainer
Laury Rappaport, Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC, REAT, pioneered the development of Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy (FOAT®) and Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®). She is the Founder/Director of the FOAT Institute, and a Certifying Coordinator, Focusing-Oriented Therapist, and Trainer with The International Focusing Institute. In addition, Laury is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (CA), Board Certified Art Therapist with the American Art Therapy Association, and Registered Expressive Arts Therapist with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. She is the author of Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy: Accessing the Body’s Wisdom and Creative Intelligence, editor/author of Mindfulness and the Arts Therapies: Theory and Practice, and has published numerous other works. Through the Focusing and Expressive Arts Institute, Laury has brought training programs nationally and internationally throughout the world, including at the University of Hong Kong, University of Guatemala, and in Japan.
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Doreen Meister, MA, LMFT, is a Certified Focusing Trainer: Specialization in FOAT® (TIFI), Certified Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) Practitioner (FOAT Institute), and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - specializing in creative arts expression, existential contemplative psychotherapy, mindfulness, and developmental trauma. For over 15 years, she has been helping adults connect with their own natural, authentic resources to develop resilience, regulation, self-compassion and authenticity. She has a private practice in Oakland, California working virtually with individuals and groups. Her specialty areas of training include: FOAT®, guided imagery, somatic touch for resilience and regulation, self-inquiry and existential humanistic contemplative psychotherapy. In addition, Doreen has over 20 years mediation experience in non-dual traditions and expresses her creativity through jewelry design.
Grace Brillantes-Evangelista, Ph.D., RPsy, CSCLP, is a Clinical Psychologist, Professor, Expressive Arts-Based Practitioner, Clinical Supervisor, Consultant, Trainer, and Workshop Facilitator in the Philippines. Grace is a Certified Focusing Trainer: Specialization in FOAT® (TIFI) and Certified Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) Practitioner (FOAT Institute). Grace has been practicing in the field for over 20 years. She is also the Executive Director of the Integrative Lifestyle And Well-being (ILAW) Center and has served as the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Miriam College. Her work and research include arts-based psychosocial interventions for different communities, mindfulness and FOAT interventions, family and human development, mental health and wellbeing, psychological assessment, child abuse, disaster psychology and resilience, internal displacement, street families, and cyberpsychology. Grace is appreciated for cultivating attunement, inner composure, and resilience among her clients.
Lynn Pollock, MA, LMHC, REAT, is an Expressive Arts Therapist in private practice in Massachusetts. Her clinical work includes over 14 years of experience working in community-based services with children and their families, and in her private practice she specializes in working with adults who struggle with mood, anxiety, trauma, and adjustment issues. Lynn received her Master’s degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Massachusetts. She is a Certified Focusing Trainer: Specialization in FOAT® (TIFI) and Certified FOAT® Practitioner (FOAT Institute). She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) and is fascinated by the intersection between EMDR and focusing. She has also recently co-produced a series of training videos, Creative Inspirations from the Field: Staying Engaged with the Arts.
Marise Lariviere, LMFT, ATR, TCF, received her Master’s degree in Art Therapy and Marriage and Family Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University in California. She is a Certified Focusing Trainer: Specialization in FOAT® (TIFI), a Certified Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) Practitioner (FOAT Institute), and a Registered Art Therapist with the American Art Therapy Association. Marise’s passion for the visual arts inspired her to acquire artistic skills in a variety of media and to experience the profound value of art for self-expression. She now uses the expressive arts to help others access their own inner knowing for positive growth and healing through a wide range of mindful creative experiences. Marise is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Quebec, Canada.
