Social Oriented Focusing, developed by Yehudit First:

Social Oriented Focusing is an approach to psychotherapy and personal growth that combines principles from Eugene Gendlin's Focusing technique with elements of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and mindfulness practices. It was developed by Israeli psychotherapist Yehudit First.

The main aspects of Social Oriented Focusing include:

1. Focusing: At its core is the Focusing practice of turning inward to connect with one's felt sense - the physical sensations that accompany emotions, thoughts and experiences in the body.
2. Empathic Listening: Drawing from NVC, it emphasizes developing empathic listening skills to understand oneself and others from a place of compassion and non-judgment.
3. Mindfulness: It incorporates mindfulness techniques to cultivate present moment awareness and acceptance.
4. Dialogue Process: It uses structured dialogue exercises to facilitate deeper self-understanding, interpersonal attunement and conflict resolution.
5. Group Setting: While applicable to individual therapy, Social Focusing often takes place in group settings to create a supportive community.

The intention is to help individuals develop greater self-empathy, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills by tuning into their inner experiences with acceptance. It aims to resolve inner conflicts, improve relationships, and create more authentic self-expression and social connections.

Through the Social Focusing process, participants learn to identify feelings, needs and values, separate observations from judgments, and communicate from a more grounded and compassionate place.

Social Oriented Focusing has applications in personal growth work, relationships, education, organizational development and conflict resolution contexts. It provides tools for self-discovery, emotional healing and building more mindful, empathic ways of relating to oneself and others.