About this event
Autonomy is often spoken about as independence, self determination, or freedom of choice. In practice, however, agency is rarely exercised in isolation. It is shaped, supported, constrained, and sometimes distorted by the relational, cultural, organisational, and ethical worlds in which we live and practise.
This second workshop invites participants to think together about autonomy and agency as organismic attributes, not as individual possessions but as capacities that emerge within context. Drawing on person centred clinical philosophy, the session explores how autonomy co exists with homonomy and heteronomy, and how agency is always exercised within a wider biospheric reality.
Held as a conversational and reflective space, the workshop slows the pace to examine how responsibility, choice, and self governance are experienced in personal life, professional roles, supervision, and therapeutic practice. Rather than offering models or techniques, the focus is on noticing how agency is lived, where it is supported, and where it becomes complicated or constrained.
This workshop explores
- Autonomy as self governance within relational and systemic contexts
- Agency as a lived capacity rather than an abstract ideal
- Responsibility, freedom, and ethical tension in professional life
- How organisational, cultural, and relational forces shape choice
- The limits of individualistic accounts of autonomy in practice
About the Workshop Series: Organismic Attributes
This workshop is part of Organismic Attributes, a three part Thinking in Conversation series grounded in person centred clinical philosophy.
The series draws on Person Centred Therapy: A Clinical Philosophy by Tudor et al., alongside the work of Carl Rogers and Andras Angyal. Central to the series is Angyal’s concept of the biosphere, which understands the organism and its environment not as separate or interacting entities, but as aspects of a single, indivisible reality.
From this perspective, autonomy, homonomy, and heteronomy are not competing forces but interrelated attributes of human life. Across the three workshops, participants are invited into reflective dialogue about how these attributes shape personal experience, professional practice, and ethical decision making.
Who this workshop is for
- Counsellors, psychotherapists, supervisors, coaches, trainees, and allied helping professionals who value reflective dialogue and wish to think more deeply about autonomy and agency in personal and professional life.
RECORDING
This event will be recorded and you can use the ticket function to pre-purchase the recording before the event. This will be useful for colleagues who are not able to attend the event live and also for those who attend the event live and want to watch it again.
ZOOM
This event will be hosted on the Zoom meeting platform where we will use our cameras and microphones to interact with each other as a group.
SELF-SELECT FEE
The self-select fee is a radical inclusion policy to open learning for all colleagues. The guide price for this event is £20.00, however, we appreciate that income varies greatly in different locations and circumstances. Please contribute what you can to help us maintain inclusive professional training.
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At Onlinevents, we and the presenters we collaborate with are committed to working in a way that aligns with the ethical codes and frameworks of our respective professional organisations. We expect all colleagues attending our events to uphold the ethical principles of their professional membership.
If you are not a member of a professional organisation, we ask that you participate in a way that is both authentic and respectful, fostering a space of mutual learning and professional engagement.
By registering for this event, you agree to be present and interact in a manner that reflects these principles.
Keemar Keemar
I have 30 years experience as a psychotherapist in private practise, 20 years working as a tutor and Director of a Psychotherapy Training Institute, 11 years as a senior counsellor for NHS staff and 8 years in University Student Counselling.
I often work with people who find therapy daunting or even think it could be impossible. Often in responsible roles, maybe creating change in their environment, yet unable to effect satisfying or profound changes in themselves and their own lives.
My job is to see what blocks and inhibits you. The process of us being together offers opportunity for new ways to think and live.
I offer Counselling & Psychotherapy both long and short term and I work face to face in Sheffield and online for people across the UK.
For 20 years I have been providing Supervision & Reflective Practise for other professionals including counsellors and psychotherapist, NHS staff, School Leaders, Business and Executive Coaches and anyone wanting to explore, expand and take care of themselves personally and professionally.
Website | www.counselling-directory.org.uk
LinkedIn | Keemar Keemar
John Wilson
I am a co-founder and Director at Onlinevents, dedicated to democratising learning in the helping professions. We host the world’s first and largest video learning library akin to “Netflix” for these professions.
Additionally, I serve as a Director at Temenos Education and lead the Counselling & Psychotherapy Programme. Our focus is on nurturing students to become their most potent selves, both personally and professionally.
With over 20 years of experience, I currently manage a private practice as a Psychotherapist and Supervisor, offering services through video, text chat, and virtual environments.
I also facilitate groups and am involved in the Going Global and La Jolla programmes, rooted in Carl Rogers’ Encounter Group movement.
I am a past Chair and now an Honorary Fellow at the Association for Counselling & Therapy Online (ACTO). I have served on the board of the World Association for Person Centered & Experiential Psychotherapy & Counselling for 6 years.
You can read an article I co-authored about online group facilitation here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/UB2QJDKNCGUMUNUURU8W/full?target=10.1080/14779757.2019.1650807
Website | www.onlinevents.co.uk