The Focolare Movement has developed “Listening Points” in Western Europe, (Portugal, Spain, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Malta) for issues arising from misuse of power, spiritual abuse and other grievances.

“Listening Points”, are a safe place where experiences or concerns can be shared in confidence. These “Listening Points” have been developed by a group of professional people. Each of them has extensive experience of providing support and accompanying people.

What to expect from the “Listening Points”?

While the professionals involved in the “Listening Points” work in the fields of psychology or psychotherapy, they have volunteered solely because of their experience in listening.

Each professional involved acts on a voluntary basis and is guided by the following principles:

• Anyone who contacts a “Listening Point” will be offered up to three sessions as an opportunity to share and explore their experience and see what actions may be required.
• After three sessions, advice can be offered to find further assistance.
• All conversations will take place in the strictest confidence. However, in the case of a disclosure of any type of serious crime, it will not be possible to maintain confidentiality. This would be discussed with the person making such a disclosure.
• Links may be made with local safeguarding teams if needed. In this case, after discussing it with the person concerned, it may be the “Listening Point” professional who will make the contact.
• Any member of the “Listening Points” can be initially contacted via email.
• All professionals involved in the “Listening Points” are independent of the governance structures of the Movement. All will abide by the confidentiality rule and will not divulge any information unless requested to do so by the person concerned.

The professionals of the Western European “Listening Points” carry out their listening task individually but are assisted and facilitated by a consultant in the person of Dr Gabriele Muller.

Without breaching the obligation of confidentiality, the consultant will have a regular meeting with the Co-Directors of the Focolare Movement in Western Europe to highlight structural and spiritual issues and to suggest appropriate preventive measures.

Who are the members of the Western Europe “Listening Points”?

Dr. Gabriele Müller – “Listening Point” Consultant
Born in 1964, she lives in a focolare in Frankfurt am Main. She has no leadership role in the Focolare Movement. She is a doctor in anaesthesia, pain therapy, palliative medicine and acupuncture with a specialization in theme-centric interaction based on the psychology of the deep at the Simone Weil Institute as well as in communication psychology at the Schultz-von-Thun Institute. She works as an associate in the medical management team of the Rhein-Main Pain Therapy and Palliative Care Centre in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt.

Dr. Toni Martín
Born in 1955 in Barcelona where he lives. He belongs to the Focolare movement. He is a doctor specializing in psychosomatic pathology: emotional disorders and somatic pain. He is a behavioural cognitive psychotherapist (Albert Ellis Institute) and a clinical sexologist and couples therapist since 1985. Member of the Steering Committee of the Collegial Section of Medical Sexology of the Official College of Doctors of Barcelona. He teaches the Masters’ course in Clinical Sexology and Sexual Health at the University of Barcelona, specializing in sexual addiction and paraphilias. He is a mindfulness instructor (MBSR), lecturer and advocate for mental health issues

Dr Angela Manning
Retired Consultant Clinical and Clinical Neuropsychologist BA MA D.Clin Psych. She has worked as a consultant clinical and clinical neuropsychologist with the British National Health Service since 1989. She has variably worked as the professional lead/ head of psychology service in mental health rehabilitation, outpatient psychiatric clinics, inpatient psychiatric services and older peoples psychiatric/neuropsychiatric services. She has held the head of service positions variably covering borough wide outpatient psychology, inpatient and transition psychological services across three major London hospitals which included being the lead for disciplines allied to psychology. Her main areas of interest and expertise are trauma with a special focus on refugee and war trauma, transcultural psychology and brain injury/developmental and degenerative conditions. She also has considerable experience in the treatment of people with psychosis and personality disorder and in training others in working with these conditions. She is a member of the Focolare.

Dr Elvira Mira García
Graduated in psychology in 1986 from the University of Seville. Her work experience has focused on the field of Clinical Psychology. Since 1988 in the private practice of clinical intervention focused on the individual attention of the disease in adults, children and couples. She is a member of the Focolare. She has held courses, seminars and conferences mainly in the fields of ‘Couple communication’, ‘Education to values’, ‘Dialogue’, ‘Adoption and Adolescence’. In recent years she has been part of the ‘Itinerarios de Luz’ team for workshops for couples in crisis.

Dr Anthony Dimech
He is a consultant in general psychiatry of adults and general psychiatric addictions for adults and for addictions. Psychotherapist cognitive behaviour. He is a member of the Focolare. He is a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta. In 2007 he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Therapy for serious mental health problems at the University of Southampton and focused on personality disorders. He received double accreditation as a specialist in general psychiatry of adults and addictions from the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, UK in 2008. In 2015 he completed a Diploma in Cognitive Hypnotherapy and is enrolled in the General Registry of Hypnotherapy, UK. He is currently reading for a PhD in comprehensive individualized assessments and cognitive hypnotherapist interventions for people with addictive behaviours based on the concept of autonomy.

Dr Susana Costa Ramalho
PhD in Psychology at the University of Lisbon and Coimbra (2015), Master in Psychology with specialization in Stress and Wellness (2008) and Degree in Psychology (1996, Psychotherapy and Counselling) at the University of Lisbon. Specialization in Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy (CBT), with subsequent training in Emotion Focused Psychotherapy. She is not a close member of the Focolare Movement. Recognized by the Order of Portuguese Psychologists as a Specialist in Clinical and Health Psychology and Community Psychology. Adult trainer since 2000 and university lecturer since 2004. Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Catholic University of Portugal since September 2017, where she currently coordinates the Institute of Family Sciences and the Advanced Training Course in Family Orientation and Referral and is a member of the team of the CUIDAR project – the university outreach program whose objective is to promote the development of a culture of protection and care in institutions. Researcher at the CRCW – Catholic Research Centre for Psychological, Family and Social Welfare, in the line of resilient and safe societies, families and individuals, under the theme of Family adaptation and development processes.

How can they be contacted?