Margaret Warner Fragile Process

Margaret Warner is a Professor at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology of Argosy University, Chicago.

She is one of the most original thinkers and philosophers within the international Person-centred Approach. Her work on Fragile Process was first published in 1991 and the theory has developed further over the years.These unique recordings offer a remarkable opportunity to hear one of person-centred’s leading theorists explain her work first hand. The warm relaxed style makes them easy, but compulsive listening.

This recording was made in front of an audience of counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists at a lecture she presented for Counselling Works Ltd, in Milton Keynes in 2008. The six hour presentation has been distilled down to just over 2 hours in this recording by Counselling Works’ Clinical Director, Allan Turner.

If you are a psychological therapist you will have seen Fragile Process clients, because they are relatively common, but you may have failed to recognise them. Their style of processing is difficult for them, for their therapists and frequently both. In this recording Margaret explains in depth one of three kinds of “difficult” processes that she has often seen in her person-centred practice – fragile process. (The other two are dissociated process and psychotic process – which are also available to download.) She believes that Rogers’ core conditions are highly effective in working with all of these kinds of process, but that particular sensitivity, attunement or understanding are required of the therapist.

In the middle of fragile process, clients tend to experience core issues at very high or very low levels of intensity. They tend to have difficulty starting and stopping experiences that are personally significant or emotionally connected. They are likely to have difficulty taking the point of view of another person while remaining in contact with such experiences.