About this event
This interactive workshop offers a space for learning, reflection, and connection—bridging the worlds of psychotherapy, politics, and international relations. Together, we’ll explore how global systems operate, what sustains peace, and—most importantly—how the skills you already possess as a psychotherapist can contribute to social and political change.
In our two hours together, we’ll take a gentle journey that links the deeply personal with the broader political. You’ll have the chance to rediscover your sense of agency and explore how, as a person can make a meaningful difference in society.
You don’t need to be an expert in politics—this workshop is for anyone who wants to understand how their work can reach beyond the therapy room and into the world.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- Recognise the connections between peace, politics and psychotherapy.
- Find ways to foster peace.
- Regain a sense of agency.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- Helping professionals who feel called to respond to current events.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- Expand your sense of professional purpose beyond the therapy room, seeing your role as part of a larger ecosystem of change and healing.
- Feel more empowered and less disheartened in the face of societal issues, translating concern into constructive action.
- Cultivate resilience and clarity about your role in times of crisis and deepening your long-term engagement.
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.
Maria Kontarini
Being a person-centered practitioner is the melting pot of diverse personal and professional experiences across psychotherapy, diplomacy, politics, business consultancy, and life in seven different countries. These varied experiences have profoundly shaped my perspective and practice.
My journey includes serving as a diplomat in Bosnia and NATO, witnessing and navigating the aftermath of war, and embarking on an ongoing process of personal and collective healing. This path has fueled my search for understanding the factors that lead to conflict and my commitment to finding ways to contribute to greater peace and justice in the world.
One way I have pursued this commitment is by practicing the person-centered approach in my daily interactions—within the therapy room, my family system, personal relations, and as a group facilitator—which has reinforced my hope in the innate human capacity for growth and constructive action when nurturing conditions are present.
Building on this foundation, I acknowledge that the challenges we face today demand not only personal agency but also collective action, which we envision to nurture within the Peace Project in the 21st Century. The Peace Project is the current iteration of what began in the 1980s as the Carl Rogers Institute for Peace, co-founded and co-directed by Carl Rogers and Gay Barfield.
Since November 2022, alongside Gay Barfield, fellow person-centered practitioners, and participants, we have been gathering as global citizens from diverse backgrounds. United by our shared commitment to peace and social justice, we aspire to create ripple effects at every level—personal, interpersonal, intercommunal and systemic.
LinkedIn | Maria Kontarini
