About this event
Belonging was a recurring theme during the one day conference on the 16th of February. Building on this, our second event is a 2-hour experiential gathering on the meaning, experience, and practice of belonging within the Person-Centred Approach.
Join us for a reflective and participatory exploration of belonging — not simply as a concept, but as a lived, relational experience. Together, we’ll consider how belonging is held, challenged, and co-created within the approach on the basis of our experiences.
We will engage with the following guiding questions:
1. What has your experience of belonging — or not belonging — within the Person-Centred Approach been like?
2. What supports greater inclusion and connection within the PCA community?
3. How might we notice — and challenge — ways we may unintentionally create exclusion within the PCA?
4. How can we offer one another the conditions that foster a sense of belonging?
We are not aiming to arrive at answers, but to listen deeply — to ourselves and to one another — and to co-create a space that feels “safe enough” for honest, heartfelt exploration.
This event will not be recorded to support the group process.
Whether you’ve felt rooted in the PCA community for years, or are exploring your relationship with it anew, we hope this event offers an experience of connection, reflection, and a renewed sense of belonging.
All are welcome.
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, and intercommunal.
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.
