Peter Schmid workshop - ta da!

Hi Everyone. Now here's a thing!

Sussex Person-Centred Group Presents:

'Presence and Encounter' facilitated by Peter Schmid.

Sat/Sun 19/20 Nov 2005 One and a half days.
Sat 9.30am to 4pm. Sun 9.30 to 1pm.
Venue: Community Base, Brighton.
Cost £75. To Book Contact Peter Hunt Tel. 01273-732606

Peter hardly needs much introduction as he is such a prolific writer within the approach. Most of the PCCS books published over the past few years that contain edited collections have at least one chapter by Peter (see for example Gill Wyatt's 'Rogers Therapeutic Conditions' series).

Here is what Dave Mearns and Mick Cooper say in their new book entitled 'Working at Relational Depth' (Sage):

"Within the person-centred field, there is a tendency to focus on the therapist's experiences and communications towards the client (eg empathy, positive regard), rather than the bidirectional, mutual encounter between therapist and client. ........Recent years, however, have seen some important advances towards a more intersubjective, dialogical person-centred therapy. At the forefront of developments here is the Austrian therapist Peter Schmid, who draws on the work of Martin Buber, as well as the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1969), to propose that the heart of a person-centred approach is a dialogical en-counter." (p.14)

High praise indeed, and for Mearns and Cooper (and Peter Schmid too):
"en-counter means standing counter to the other person and working therapeutically with the difference. This last point is critical, the therapist must be prepared to work with the consequences of the encounter. Their 'counter' to the client is not an act of judgement, aggression or revenge, it is part of the therapeutic engagement. Such an encounter as this is just as likely to lead to a meeting at relational depth ..." (pp125/6).

Cutting edge stuff. Existentially speaking - be there or be elsewhere but take responsiblity for that choice!

[Source: PCA-Events - apologies for duplication]

Paul Colley

SEE ALSO PETER SCHMID'S GIGANTIC COMPENDIOUS WEBSITE (Under Links - left).