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Upcoming FOAT Trainings, Workshops, and Events
World Art Therapy Conference
February 7 - 8, 2026
Focusing-Oriented Arts Therapy (FOAT®): A Mind-Body Approach
Presented by Laury Rappaport, Ph.D., LMFT, REAT, ATR-BC; Hosted by Creative Arts Therapies Events
Dr. Laury Rappaport will present an overview of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®), including the research underlying FOAT®, its development and history, foundational principles and core methods: Theme-Directed FOAT®, Clearing a Space with Arts, FOAT® Check-In, and Working on an Issue. Clinical examples will be included, along with an experiential FOAT® exercise. This key presentation will be featured in the Arts Therapies and Mind-Body Approaches section of the Conference!
The World Art Therapy Conference will be held from February 7 to 22, 2026. Conference registration is now open– You can register for FREE or with their paid package (includes home-study access and 46 NBCC CE Hours)!
Roots, Branches, and Wings Series
Monday, March 23, 2026 3:00 - 5:00pm PDT / 6:00 - 8:00pm EST / View time zone converter
Introduction to Focusing and Dreams: Finding, Embodying and Anchoring ‘the Help’
Presented by Dr. Leslie Ellis; Hosted by the FOAT Institute
Focusing is a deeply respectful and profound avenue for the exploration of our dreaming lives. Its gentle form of inquiry opens a doorway into the mystery of dreaming that does not yield to logic or force, but rather, unfolds as we bring curious, open-ended attention to our spontaneous images. A key aspect of Focusing-oriented dreamwork is Eugene Gendlin’s notion that we can ‘find help’ in every dream.
In this Introduction to Focusing and Dreams, we will create/enter a dream or daydream, find and embody help, give it expression and share/discuss what arises for us. We will also learn the basic steps of embodied experiential dreamwork, with examples of how these steps unfold in session. Dr. Ellis will also describe the clinical uses and benefits of exploring dreams, and explain why finding help is such a good place to start when exploring dreams (and especially nightmares). There will be time for brief experiential practices, debriefing/discussion and your questions.
Live presentation is eligible for 2 NBCC CE Hours (purchased separately)
Register for this single presentation or save 10% with our Spring 2026 Discount Bundle– with Kathleen & Tamara's presentation below
See more information and registration for:
Roots, Branches, and Wings Series
Monday, April 20, 2026 3:00 - 5:00pm PDT / 6:00 - 8:00pm EST / View time zone converter
The Creative Wisdom Approach: Embodying a 5-step Intermodal Expressive Arts Process
Presented by Kathleen Horne, MA, LMHC, REACE, REAT & Tamara Knapp, MA, NCC, LMHC, REACE; Hosted by the FOAT Institute
Join the co-founders of Expressive Arts Florida Institute for an introduction to their Creative Wisdom Approach—a five-step process that draws on the natural world and the deep inner wisdom accessed through the arts. The presentation includes an overview of its theoretical foundations in nature-informed, intermodal expressive arts practice, as well as an experiential component. Through an intermodal sequence of checking in, nature witnessing, guided meditation, art-making, movement, sound, witnessing and sharing, your current inner landscape will be illuminated and expanded. Alongside this experiential process, you will learn the five steps of the Creative Wisdom Approach, as well as to how it can be implemented with clients, students, mentees, or workshop participants.
The Creative Wisdom Approach has evolved organically through Expressive Arts Florida Institute’s more than 15 years of training expressive arts therapists and facilitators, and leading workshops, trainings, and presentations. This presentation will include applications of the Creative Wisdom Approach within professional roles, including implementation across contexts such as therapy, facilitation, education, consulting, and coaching, as well as for personal practice.
Live presentation is eligible for 2 NBCC CE Hours (purchased separately)
Register for this single presentation or save 10% with our Spring 2026 Discount Bundle– with Leslie's presentation above
See more information and registration for:
Expressive Therapies Spring Virtual Summit (Mini-Summit Pacific)
Thursday, April 23, 2026 10:00am - 1:00pm PT
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts: Cultivating Embodied Self-Compassion
Presented by Doreen Meister, MA, LMFT; Karen Quatsoe, BFA; and Lynn Pollock, MA, LMHC, REAT. Hosted by Expressive Therapies Summit.
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) is a mindfulness and somatic approach, developed by Laury Rappaport, that integrates the felt sense and the body's wisdom with the expressive arts. It is based on Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing method, an evidence-based mind-body approach that leads to growth and change. This didactic and experiential workshop provides an overview of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®), including its history and development, foundational principles, how to access the body’s wisdom through the felt sense and express it through the arts, and learn one of the FOAT® Themed exercises designed to cultivating self-compassion. Experiential exercises will teach:
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The main concepts of Focusing: Focusing Attitude, felt sense, and handle/symbol
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A theme-directed FOAT® exercise, “Focusing Attitude for You”, that teaches how to access a felt sense of self-compassion: symbolize it as an image, gesture, sound, word, or phrase; and express it through the arts.
An intermodal writing process will deepen the experience of accessing the inner knowing and identifying next steps. This FOAT exercise can be applied as a self-care practice for practitioners, as well as a method for working with others. FOAT can be applied to all clinical contexts, as well as in nonclinical contexts (e.g education, coaching, health). Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB, SWNYS, NY LMHC, NY LCAT, NY LMFT.
International Focusing Conference - Vienna 2026 In-person Event
June 3 - 7, 2026
Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts: Cultivating Embodied Self-Compassion
Panel: Laury Rappaport (US), Evelyn Ammon & Frances Ingouville (Guatemala), Elisa Wai Hing Cheng & Katherine Kwok (Hong Kong), and Yoshiko Kosaka (Japan). Hosted by The International Focusing Institute (TIFI).
The development of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) began in 1977, with the support of Gene and Mary— when Laury Rappaport had a felt sense that Focusing was a perfect match with expressive arts. In its 49 years carrying forward, FOAT® has become an established profession. This international panel will share highlights of how FOAT has unfolded in the U.S., Guatemala, Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, and the Philippines— applied in psychotherapy, children in hospice, a rural community in the Highlands of Guatemala, special education, parenting, and community wellness. It will also include FOAT® at universities and in research.
Approved FOAT® Trainings
The following courses meet the content, ethical standards, and faculty level competency of FOAT® Training. These are administered by the Faculty offering that training (not the FOAT Institute). For questions, please contact the Faculty for the respective course.
Faculty: Lynn Pollock, Ma, LMHC, REAT; lynn@expressiveyou.me
March 4 - June 10, 2026
Level 1: Foundations and Approaches of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®)
Lynn Pollock, MA, LMHC, REAT; through Expressive You
This training provides a solid foundation of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) with an emphasis on deepening one’s embodied knowing of the main FOAT approaches– Focusing Attitude, Theme-Directed FOAT®, Clearing a Space with Arts, FOAT® Check-in, Working on an Issue, Self-Focusing, and Compassionate Listening. Trainees will also expand their understanding of the core concepts, skills and philosophy of Focusing, developed by Eugene Gendlin– felt sense, symbol/handle, felt shift, and life forward direction.
Learning FOAT and Focusing in Level 1 emphasizes learning the exercises for oneself– in order to understand deeply how the felt sense, creativity, and the body’s wisdom interacts and unfolds, while also being grounded in FOAT theories. The FOAT Partnership and small group practices during Level 1 open the doorway to learn about others’ processes and also provides a foundation for facilitation skills that are continued in Level 2
Eligible for 22 NBCC CE Hours (purchased separately)
This training meets the requirements of REAT.
Click the button below to visit the course page to learn more!
FOAT® Training
Programs open for enrollment:
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Introduction to Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®) Self-Study– Completion fulfills the prerequisite for Level 1.
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Eligible for 3 NBCC CE Hours
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Approved FOAT® Training
Level 1: Foundations and Approaches of Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®)
March - June 2026 • Eligible for 22 NBCC CE Hours
Offered by Lynn Pollock, MA, LMHC, REAT, through Expressive You (fully online learning format). For course information and registration, click here to view the course page! If you have any questions, please contact Lynn at lynn@expressiveyou.me.
FOAT® Training Program
The training program is streamlined into 4 levels that utilize additional FOAT Supervision and Coaching to strengthen the online learning format. In addition, awards and Certifications can be earned after completing Levels 2 and 4 respectively.
For more information, including course descriptions, Certifications, and more, visit our FOAT® Training Program Page!
