Client Experiences

Finding Michael Picucci & Focalizing

After a few years of numerous difficult events left me in a state of acute stress and anxiety, I was told I might benefit from trauma healing. I sought out Dr. Picucci for help. Having previously been in therapy, as well successfully working on my sobriety for over a decade, I thought that I was fairly self-aware, able to work out problems on my own. I had little idea then of the life-changing journey I was about to embark on.

I felt an immediate connection with Michael; he has a truly gentle, understanding manner. Later, I realized this comes from not only his professional knowledge and experience, but his own journey into self-discovery.

We started out using Somatic Experiencing techniques to calm the physical trauma to my central nervous system. The effect was subtle, but clear. I soon began to easily take positive actions that I had previously been too paralyzed to even think of. Michael’s continued support during this time was invaluable.

While healing from trauma, we began to work on a deeper level. Prior to meeting Michael, my work in therapy and recovery had only skimmed the surface. Through Focalizing and other visualization techniques, I find myself able to finally let go of the mental debris that prevented me from building a more solid foundation. I am now able to make positive, transformative changes to become more of my authentic self.

Through my complete trust in Michael’s guidance and the benefit of his keen insight, I am daring to dream. It is truly exciting! I’m able to challenge myself, enrich my life experience and become the person I want to be.

—D.B., New York

After discovering I had PTSD, trying to find a really good therapist was traumatic in itself. After researching a few national PTSD websites, some places I called sounded great, but the cost was prohibitive. It was a painful and tortuous process that seemed to trigger the already intense energy build-up in my nervous system that I was experiencing.

When I finished Peter Levine’s book I found an interview with him in conversation with Michael Picucci, on the latter’s website. I knew I needed to work with someone excellent, experienced in trauma, and Michael drew me in. When Michael wrote back to me I found someone honest, kind, and compassionate. He was candid in sharing his own life experiences. His willingness to work with me (though I was in Alaska, and he in New York) gave me a sense of relief and hope. Something else happened; I started to feel some inner magic and joy reawaken. Simply put, the intuitive connection I sensed I made with Michael felt good! [Read more...]

— Shabd-sangeet Khalsa, Fairbanks, Alaska

I came to Dr. Michael Picucci to work in early recovery with my crystal meth addiction and sexual compulsion. Michael was a perfect match for that work. Previously, I had been on a dual and diverging path for 20 years exploring various spiritual traditions, as my addictions and compulsive behaviors escalated and eventually became unmanageable. Michael’s work is genuine; he carried me along a path he well knows from his own life experience and personal healing process.

His use of Focalizing and Somatic Experiencing was especially effective in healing the traumas and blocks in my vibrational energy that kept me from living the life I desired. These techniques were graceful, occurring naturally with ease under Michael’s guidance.

After several months of this work, we began to focus on creating a loving, intimate relationship in my life. One of the first things we did was to really understand who I am, as I needed to know myself before I could begin to describe what I wanted in a partner. This was especially beneficial, complimenting the 12-Step work I was doing outside our sessions. We then drafted an online personal ad and subsequently processed my dating experiences.

Over the next 6 months, a job in a career that no longer served me dissolved away, allowing for the creation of fulfilling and prosperous work that authentically expresses who I really am. I transitioned out of an apartment purchased at the height of my active addiction into a smaller studio; I love how it expresses and supports who I am. And finally, I started dating a kind, loving and intelligent man just like the vision I created working with Michael.

Michael is a treasure, and the powerful work we have done together has given me a life beyond my wildest imaginings.

—B.L., New York

My experience of working with Michael Picucci: We don’t belabor the Sturm and Drang of my past. We use the past as a resource, not a template, and we don’t linger on the narrative of my life. But I find that now, the painful parts of my past have less power to determine my choices in the present.

We don’t do coaching. We haven’t made an “actions list,” nor does Michael suggest specific lines of action. But I find goals easier to define and I have less resistance to doing what I need to do to achieve my goals.

My life feels lighter and easier. I feel more, and I also act more spontaneously, without doing self-destructive things to tamp down any sadness or fear. Michael's Focalizing work is deceptively simple and enormously transformative.

—Dr. George Russell, Chiropractor, Bodyworker and Counselor

I began working with Michael Picucci during a particularly dark period in my professional life. I found myself in a toxic and abusive work environment that was completely debilitating. I was literally frozen: unable to see beyond the immediacy of my situation, I was gripped with paralysis and completely unable to make the changes that deep down I knew I needed to make for my own sanity — and survival.

Working with Michael and using both somatic experiencing and Focalizing, I was able to tap the energy that was latent within me – and equally as important, to connect quite literally with the energy of the cosmos – to transform my entire professional situation from one of devastation to empowerment. That was one year ago. I’m now in business for myself with a thriving practice, one from which I continually draw inspiration, energy, and strength.

Our work has continued well beyond my initial professional motive. With Michael’s expert guidance I’ve been able to bring the same insight and personal “knowingness” to matters of relationships, sexuality, and creativity. Each day I celebrate the vibrant and multidimensional presence, fueled with resourceful energy, that I’m now able to bring to every aspect of my life. There is no turning back: to borrow from Michael’s words, the power of the work we continue to pursue has left me forever changed.

— Chris Collette, New York City

I came to see Michael due to a severe depression, which I believed was going to drive me to suicide. My mind was filled with ruthless self-hatred and resentments, despite professional success, wealth and physical health. I felt alone and unworthy. The escape that I had found in alcohol was not working anymore, and instead was turning things worse.

I remember Michael suggesting a “shared intention” in our first session that our work would lead to the healing of my internal conflicts… This intention materialized and the process took me out of my depression and led to a meaningful improvement of my life… He put me in touch with different “resources” (internal and external) that I used as tools to change my state of mind and to dissolve internal knots and fears. Michael’s somatic work helped me open a door into internal “journeys” that have made me aware of an inner intelligence that supports my healing process.

Today my life has changed beyond what I thought was possible… My recovery has given me the courage to leave my previous job and start up my own business. I am moving into one of my dream homes, and today I cherish every moment of my life — even the challenging ones.

— J. A., New York

I was referred to Dr. Michael Picucci by my former therapist for my on going battle with compulsive eating. I had gained and lost over two hundred pounds twice and still gained the weight back. Michael helped me focus and develop other strategies to lift myself from depression. He also helped me release behavior patterns from my childhood.

I have now maintained a two hundred and twenty pound weight loss for almost four years. Michael taught me to energetically resource myself through meditation, prayer, and meaningful connections with others. He truly changed my life and I will be forever grateful to him.

—Rick Carmen, New York City

I was referred to Michael Picucci by Mike Lew, author of the seminal book Victims No Longer, Men Recovering from Childhood Sexual Abuse after attending one of [Lew’s] powerful retreats… Prior to the retreat I had been in traditional psychotherapy for over ten years [through which] I was able to discover my issues with alcohol, substance abuse, and incest. After years of therapy and recovery, including 12 step programs, I felt better but also felt I had completed a cycle of healing.

I walked in and the first thing he said was “Do you know much about my therapy style? It is not traditional talk therapy”. Michael explained his somatic work and asked me to experience it. I closed my eyes and he prompted me to begin moving energy through my body from places that felt relaxed to places that felt tense… Parts of my body began to twitch, and tension began to move from one part to another. I usually went into a deep meditation and my intuition took over… Through Michael's guidance I have begun to understand the effects of trauma… I never realized that many of my automatic responses to stress and anxiety were creating additional trauma.

The work is very subtle and often I feel the effects weeks after. Michael has helped me to let go of the past and to live my life with full intention. I feel very different and healthy. Best of all, I can be normal, full of life, and consciously work to live in a more productive way. Grace. That's what it is — simple grace.

—M.N., New York City

After a car accident, I began to suffer from a number of bewildering symptoms. I was extremely anxious, unable to sleep, and fearful when driving. Worst of all, I felt disconnected from those around me. Everyday contact with family, friends and colleagues became very painful. Nothing I did to “get over” these feelings gave me relief. Talking about the accident and what I was going through only served to intensify the suffering. I felt stuck and did not know what to do.

Dr. Picucci suggested that I do some Focalizing sessions with him. In the two sessions we did, he gently guided me in exercises that helped me to discharge the trauma from my body, regain a sense of well-being, and re-connect with myself and those around me. It almost seems improbable how powerful and effective Focalizing can be in such a short time. I recommend Focalizing to anyone who needs help in getting “unstuck” after a traumatic event in his or her life.

—Michael Knauth, Woodstock, NY

I turned to Dr. Michael Picucci for help in overcoming the suffering of profound sadness and grief over the sudden death of an ex-husband and father of my children. Because I had not been with my ex-husband for many years, everyone assumed I was okay. But I was suffering as if we never parted. Over the years I had many attempts to help him overcome his addictions. I felt guilt, rage, sadness, and failure to both him and my children…

Michael Picucci immediately grasped and understood the grief I was experiencing… In a short period of time, Michael calmed me and grounded my inner spirit. He helped me focus on times that were peaceful and calming. He did not ask me to forget my grief, but rather to accept it and to experience my realities in a more positive light. I actually left our first Focalizing session together able to meet the day head-on.

By the time we got to our second and last session, the sadness was still there, but I was using some of the tools that Michael gave me to get through the week and to manage the situation… Learning to focalize through experiencing these sessions and working with Michael has given me a skill and tool that can be used on a daily basis....He has an ability to assess quickly and work with you so you still have control over your own thoughts and actions and can begin to move forward and accept the past.

—Rosemarie Dreier, Isles of Palms, SC

When a dear and close friend from the southeast of the US was diagnosed with cancer, and decided to seek treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in NYC, both he and I knew it would take more than modern medicine to help him through this process.

Facing chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, and far from home and knowing no one in the NYC area but me, I thought of only one person, and one process, that would integrate all the piece-parts he would be needing: Michael Picucci, and Focalizing.

I felt so strongly that I gifted a session to my friend. He has been through two sessions with Michael thus far, and his response is one of gratitude, relief and hopefulness. I add my own gratitude that Michael is doing this work.

—F.S., Ocean Grove, NJ

When my partner suggested couples counseling, I thought our relationship was beyond hope. After five years, I had begun to ask myself whether this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with because, quite frankly, I wasn't getting the love I needed from him. Dr. Picucci helped us identify and eliminate the destructive patterns that had formed in our relationship and taught us how to communicate with each other more effectively. I am now getting the love that I need, and, at long last, my partner is too.

—C.S., New York City

I have attended Michael Picucci’s seminars previously and benefited greatly. However, last week’s session of “Reinventing Ourselves Naturally” was truly transformational. During a grounding Focalizing process, the group was asked to visualize something that has been an obstacle or deterrent. Mine has always been financial insecurity, specifically last week’s was “How am I going to pay the rent at the end of the month?” That question haunts my waking hours, causing a build-up of ongoing, relentless fear. During this exercise, I imagined that fear and pictured a black, muddy rock closing in on me. It came closer and stopped in front of my face, dark and foreboding.

Michael then asked us to picture a resource, something that made us feel good, the opposite of what the previous image symbolized. Pools of serene water emerged before me, washing away all fear as I breathed in the calmness. Next we were instructed to join the images together to come up with a third, illustrating the merging of the two. A white torrent of water sprayed out of the ground shooting towards the sky, as if to tell me, “I live in abundance, I have nothing to fear.” I sensed that this exuberant image was my present and my future; a life filled with abundance not only financially, but a wealth of love, joy, health and a road ahead of charmed life experiences. As I write this, I inhale a deep breath, reminding my central nervous system to re-regulate, enjoying the inner world I have been taught to connect with under Michael’s wise Focalizing guidance, and I am very grateful.

—Oliver Olwyn, New York

I invited Michael Picucci to give the opening keynote address for LaGuardia Community College's 2nd Annual Complementary and Alternative Health & Healing Fair, based on the opportunity I had to meet him a year before and read his recently published book, Ritual as Resource. Like ritual, I thought that he was an important resource to access.

The audience that afternoon was very diverse, and composed of students, faculty, administrators and members of the general public. Michael was marvelous in how he was able to connect to those present by sharing his rather incredible and miraculous personal story with them and inviting them to “try” one of the healing techniques he uses. The responses to his talk and the hands on experience were instantaneously enthusiastic and positive. He left a valuable and lasting impression.

—Tony Allicino,
Director Center for Complementary and Alternative Health & Healing LaGuardia Community College/CUNY

The atmosphere at Michael Picucci's workshops is one of openness, sharing and discovery. He sets the tone immediately by candidly sharing his own personal journey of growth and discovery and by inviting us to release our sense of limitation to discover what is possible and how to manifest it.

The most important discovery is the profound awareness that the individual's thoughts and actions impact us -- and the Universe -- in a major way. The group intention enhances the power of the individual's intention. Focalizing teaches the individual to let go of self-judgment and self-limitation to exercise the power of his imagination and creativity, without fear or hesitation so that manifestation can occur.

The latter is experienced through a variety of practices: visualizations of our reality blended with our aspirations, from guided meditation to movement meditation, accompanied by very beautiful uplifting spiritual music; small group encounters (“world cafés”) where we confront our issues and express our intentions; and large group encounters aimed at demonstrating how we impact each others' energy fields, and how we move as a unit, even though we experience ourselves a separate entities. Through our individual sharing, we realize how more alike we are than different, that the sense of separation is totally an illusion.

—Sheila R. Salama, MD, New York City