The Annual Memorial Melissa Harte Lecture stands as a testament to Dr. Harte’s exceptional contributions to the world of Person-Centered Experiential and Emotion-Focused Therapy.
Proceeds from the Melissa Harte Memorial Lecture will go to the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA) to support the training of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychology students in Australia. AIPA’s work aims to help achieve equitable participation of First Nation people within the psychology profession in order to address inequities in the provision of mental health services amongst indigenous communities.
About this talk:
The aim of this talk will be to discuss the relationship between the person-centred approach and current developments in social justice thinking and practice. There is much to celebrate in the contribution that Carl Rogers and our field has made to social justice practices: from the articulation of a client-empowering stance, to Rogers and colleagues’ peace work, to inspiring such community-based practices as nonviolent communication and parent effectiveness training. But there are also challenges to the person-centred approach from the contemporary social justice field: such as how we approach practices like ‘broaching’ and ‘advocacy’, and how we engage with cultural differences or intersectionality. THIS TALK WILL ALSO LOOK at how the person-centred approach might evolve to incorporate these new perspectives: developing theory and practice which combines the client-centredness of classical Rogerian approaches with a cutting edge recognition of contemporary social justice and multicultural issues.
Cooper, M. (2023). Psychology at the heart of social change: Developing a progressive vision for society. Policy. https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/psychology-at-the-heart-of-social-change
Cooper, M. (2024). Progressive social change perspectives and therapy: Mapping the interfaces: Part 1: From progressive social change perspectives to therapy. Pluralistic Practice. https://doi.org/10.57064/2164/24580
Proctor, G., Cooper, M., Sanders, P., & Malcolm, B. (Eds.). (2006). Politicising the person-centred approach: An agenda for social change. PCCS Books. https://www.pccs-books.co.uk/products/politicizing-the-person-centred-approach-an-agenda-for-social-change-1
Course Content
Presenter
(1959 – 2021)
Counselling and Clinical Psychologist, trainer, supervisor and therapist, Melissa’s vibrancy and commitment made her a treasured and esteemed member of the Person-Centred Experiential and Emotion Focused Therapeutic international community. Melissa developed the Expanded Focusing model for working with traumatic pain, outlined in her book Processing Emotional Pain Using Emotion Focused Therapy (2019). She founded the Australian Institute of Emotion Focused Therapy in Melbourne where her influence lives on. We honour Melissa as a much loved colleague, mentor and friend.
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), and The Handbook of Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling (Palgrave, 2013).
His latest work is Integrating Counselling and Psychotherapy: Directionality, Synergy, and Social Change (Sage, 2019).
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.
