Mick Cooper co-authored the book Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy with Dave Mearns, a text that was met with wide acclaim in the field of counselling and psychotherapy, engaging with an experience recognised by many practitioners as both transformative for the client and deeply meaningful for the therapist.
Therapy Today writes that, "'The book represents a 'gentle revolution'. The gentleness comes from its lack of stridency and from its inclusiveness, and the radical quality is that person-centred therapy in particular, and all therapeutic work in general, cannot be the same again'"
"Relational depth" can be seen at the heart of some counselling training programmes and is a concept often mentioned in the Onlinevents chat room.
And at the same time there are some thinkers in the field who strongly critique the propositions set forth in the book. We will be interviewing Sue Wilders later in the week, click here to register for a free ticket.
John interviewed Mick about his experience as a practitioner and researcher and his passions as an academic that led him to write one of the most loved and criticised books in the field of counselling and psychotherapy.
Course Content
Presenter
Mick Cooper is an internationally recognised author, trainer, and consultant in the field of humanistic, existential, and pluralistic therapies. He is a Chartered Psychologist, and Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton.
Mick has facilitated workshops and lectures around the world, including New Zealand, Lithuania, and Florida.
Mick’s books include Existential Therapies (Sage, 2017), Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Sage, 2018), The Handbook of Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling (Palgrave, 2013), and Integrating Counselling and Psychotherapy: Directionality, Synergy, and Social Change (Sage, 2019).
His latest work is Psychology at the Heart of Social Change: Developing a Progressive Vision of Society (Policy Press, 2023)
Mick Cooper is also the editor of The Tribes of the Person-Centred Nation (PCCS, 2024) and co-editor of The Handbook of Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling (3rd ed, 2024).
Mick’s principal areas of research have been in shared decision-making/personalising therapy, and counselling for young people in schools.
In 2014, Mick received the Carmi Harari Mid-Career Award from Division 32 of the American Psychological Association. He is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the Academy of Social Sciences.
His latest work is Psychology at the Heart of Social Change: Developing a Progressive Vision of Society (Policy Press, 2023)
The book looks at the interface between therapy and social justice. The blurb for the book reads: ‘Over the past century, psychotherapy – and its parent discipline, psychology – has built up a vibrant, nuanced and highly practical understanding of human wellbeing and distress. This book describes a progressive political approach that integrates insights from the psychotherapeutic and psychological domain, moving us from a politics of blame to a politics of understanding. In this vision of society – surrounded by a culture of radical acceptance – all individuals can live rich and fulfilling lives. We need those shaping our political landscape to understand psychological needs and processes more deeply to enhance our ability to work with others in a spirit of collaboration, dialogue and respect.’
