Book Launch & Panel Discussion: Social Justice in Psychological Therapies: Power, Politics, Change

Dr. Divine Charura is a full Professor of Counselling Psychology at York St John University (England). He is a Chartered Psychologist, and Counselling Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. He is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in England. Divine is also an Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and an Adult Psychotherapist.

Divine’s psychotherapeutic interests are in exploring the therapeutic relationship when working with, loss, diversity, psychological distress, Trauma, love, relationships and their impact of on being. Divine has co-authored and edited numerous books in counselling, psychology and psychotherapy. These include Love and Therapy: In Relationship [co-edited with Stephen Paul] and with Colin Lago has co-edited the following books The Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy Handbook: Origins, Developments and Current Applications and Black Identities + White therapies: Race respect and diversity.

Divine is a lover of photography, art, music and outdoor pursuits.

Counselling Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Education and Counselling Psychology at the University of Manchester, UK

Laura Anne Winter is a HCPC registered counselling psychologist and BPS chartered psychologist. She works at the University of Manchester as Senior Lecturer in Education and Counselling Psychology and is the Programme Director for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and the Associate Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the School of Environment, Education and Development. Laura’s research and writing has focused on social justice, equality and related issues in counselling and psychotherapy, psychology and education. Her clinical practice has been based in NHS, third sector and university counselling service settings.

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.

The Therapy and Social Change (TaSC) Network is a broad affiliation of people interested in exploring the interface between therapeutic ideas and practices and social justice perspectives and actions. We are interested both in the ways that counselling and psychotherapy can be practiced with social justice concerns in mind (for instance, tackling unconscious biases in the consulting room), and also in the ways that therapeutic principles and practices can be extended out to the wider social realm (for instance, developing social and emotional literacy in schools).