2026 Future of PCA

ONLINE CONFERENCE

Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026 How can the person-centred community embody the change it hopes to see in the wider world?

PROGRAMME February 15th 2026

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Programme Guide Theme and Guiding Questions What to Expect on the Day Conference Schedule Conference Hosts Panel 1 Speaker Bios Panel 2 Speaker Bios

The Future of the Person-Centred Approach (GMT)

Conference Schedule

Welcome and Introductions 09:00 - 09:30 (Morning Session) 09:30 - 12:30

Panel 1 + Group Conversation

Welcome and Introductions 17:00 - 17:30 (Evening Session) 17:30 - 20:30

Panel 2 + Group Conversation

20:30 - 20:45

BREAK

20:45 - 21:00

Closing February 15th 2026

Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026 How can the person-centred community embody the change it hopes to see in the wider world?

The person-centred approach is built on empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard, yet painful ruptures, theoretical schisms and relational fatigue mark our community. What would it look like to care for these interpersonal wounds with the same compassion we extend to clients, and in doing so, offer the wider world a living model of dialogue that works?

Theme and Guiding Questions Tending Our Own Garden How do we recognise and soothe the fault-lines within the personcentred community?

From Rupture to Repair Which relational practices transform disagreement into creative growth?

Microcosm → Model When we get our house in order, what actionable principles can we offer a divided world?

Integrity in Action How can we align our public voice with the way we actually treat one another?

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What to Expect on the Day This year’s gathering is built around two panels, each followed by a group conversation Panel 1 (Morning) Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes A session of focused contributions from invited panellists who have been reflecting on the Themes and Guiding Questions.

Short Break A brief pause to reset and prepare to engage.

Group Conversation 1 Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes A facilitated, open ended dialogue inviting the community to explore emerging insights together.

-End of Morning SessionPanel 2 (Evening) Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes A second session of focused contributions from invited panellists deepening the exploration of the Themes and Guiding Questions.

Short Break A moment to breathe and transition.

Group Conversation 2 Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes A final facilitated, open ended dialogue to bring the day’s reflections into shared understanding.

Closing

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Listening for Transformation

As we listen to one another, we do so not only with compassion but with curiosity: How might moments of disconnection and insight shape how we grow together? How might our responses to rupture become models for peaceful and sustainable change in the wider world?

We’ll be exploring what it means to practise empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard together—holding space for what is real, present, and emerging between us, even when it’s difficult.

Rather than aiming for agreement or resolution, we invite each other into encounters that are grounded, honest, and alive to the possibilities of change.

We look forward to welcoming you into this space for shared reflection, thoughtful dialogue, and honest connection.

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Conference Host Maria Kontarini

My work is woven from a tapestry of experiences across psychotherapy, diplomacy, corporate human relations, and life in seven countries.

My work is woven from a tapestry of experiences across psychotherapy, diplomacy, corporate human relations, and life in seven countries.

My most profound teacher has been Bosnia and witnessing the aftermath of war, not as a distant observer, but as a fellow human being, was a shattering experience.

A wound that became a door, opening me to a visceral understanding of how the personal and the political are interdependent. I saw how both trauma and post-traumatic growth are woven into the very fabric of broader structures and systems revealing that sustainable, meaningful change requires both bottom-up and top-down approaches working in concert.

These insights form the foundation of the Psychotherapists as Peacemakers programme and my co-founding of the Peace Project 21 (PP21) — the current iteration of the Carl Rogers Institute for Peace, co-founded by Rogers and Gay Barfield in the 1980s.

Created to meet today's pressing needs, both initiatives are designed to cultivate personal agency as well as collective courage. They are meant to integrate healing and justice— so that transformation can tend to the wounds within individuals and redress the inequities embedded in our systems.

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Conference Host 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.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

PANEL 1 Speaker Bios

Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Arina Dogaru

I’m a psychologist and person-centered psychotherapist, and I’ve been working in private practice for more than 10 years. Through this work, I’ve gained valuable insights into the complexities of human relationships, the power of empathy, and the resilience people show in the face of challenges.

I’m also an encounter groups enthusiast. Working with groups in a personcentered approach has deepened my understanding of relationship dynamics and the conditions that foster growth and change.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Sheila Haugh

Sheila is person-centred therapist, facilitator and consultant/supervisor. Until very recently, she was the Director of Studies Course Leader for the MSc Contemporary Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Applications at the Metanoia Institute in London. She is a former convenor of the BAPCA, and former member of the board of the WAPCECP. She works in the UK and in the Czechia where she has lived for the last 14 years.

She was a member of the UKCP Training and Universities College and was involved in the process of getting the titles ‘person-centred psychotherapist’ and ‘client-centred psychotherapist’ registered in the UKCP. She is co-editor of two books and author of a number of chapters, the most recent being Bozarth, J. D., & Haugh, S. (2024). Unconditional Positive Regard. In M. Cooper, G. di Malta, M. M. O’Hara, Y. Gololob, & S. Stephen (Eds.), The Handbook of person-centred Psychotherapy and Counselling(3rd edition, pp. 200–211). Bloomsbury Academic.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Sarah Henry Sarah Henry is a racial identity specialist, published author, counselling tutor, counsellor and consultant. Born in England to parents of Jamaican heritage, Sarah’s formative experience was a notable dynamic of complementary and clashing cultural norms. Elements of this disparity continued into adulthood and as she became more aware of her own racial identity and ‘not quite fitting in’. Her honest incorporation of these experience informs her empathic and nonjudgemental approach to her work in supporting others to become more confident and inclusive in conversations and interactions about race.

Sarah has a published chapter in the 2023 book by Pete Sanders and Janet Tolan titled People Not Pathology: Freeing Therapy From The Medical Model.

This chapter is focused on the overmedicalisation of Black people in mental healthcare settings and offers both information and support for therapists looking to work with Black clients.

She has presented and lectured nationally on race, racial identity and social justice and has worked with University of Roehampton, OnlinEvents, Counselling Tutor, PCCS Books, Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB), Black and Asian Therapist Network (BAATN), A Disorder 4 Everyone, Medico Digital and others.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Emma Tickle

Emma Tickle is Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham and the Course Leader for the Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD) programmes. Emma trained as a PCE therapist at Diploma and Masters level at the University of Nottingham.

As well as counselling education Emma has taught Psychology, co-produced and delivered courses for the NHS Recovery College and provides Continuing and Professional Development and Clinical Supervision. Emma has clinical experience working as a PCE counsellor in multi-disciplinary teams in education, health, and corporate contexts, and runs a small private practice.

Emma is currently undertaking her PhD exploring PCE as a resource towards Social Justice while applying a Social Justice lens to the PCE approach. Emma contributes to the Centre for Research in Human Flourishing at the University of Nottingham.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Kazuo Yamashita I have been learning and practicing person-centered approach for 50 years. It is just like PCA is living in myself and I am living in PCA. Through this experience I am interested in PCA on these areas.

1. Human and Organizational Development: It may call Bifocal approach, Human Development and Organizational Development.

2. Adapting PCA into social work, social work with individuals, with families, with groups, with organizations and communities. I believe PCA will contribute to make social work more humanistic.

3. Humanistic Education. I ever worked at a small alternative school named "Play Mountain Place" in Los Angeles as an intern teacher for two years. This school has been influenced by Carl Rogers' ideas. I learned many things from this school.

Now, I am teaching my learning to Japanese child caregivers.

4. Buddhist counseling, "Dharma-based person-centered approach." I learned PCA and Shin- Buddhism (Pure-land Buddhism) from Professor Saiko Gisho. Now I am awakening both are deeply connected in myself. Saiko called this approach, "Dharma-based person-centered approach." This gives me the deepest awareness.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Patricia Foster I am a European Certified Person Centred Therapist, a Certified Focusing Oriented Therapist and Trainer, and a Certifying Coordinator of The International Focusing Institute New York. I graduated in the U.K. as a Sociologist and Political Scientist (1978) and then found myself in the world of Finance and Shipping both in Rotterdam , Holland and Greece. but after 23 years (for personal reasons)I began in 2002 a training in Greece in Focusing, and then as a Person Centred and Focusing Oriented therapist, I qualified in 2007 and continued as a trainer in training. In 2009 I returned to University and completed my M.A. in Focusing Oriented Therapy and Research Methods at UEA. I also completed during these 2012 at the Center for Partnership Studies , with Dr. Riane Eisler a Certification in Caring Economics Leadership Program : Women’s Empowerment Track.

In 2012, I left my Shipping and Finance life behind and since then, I have continued to be involved in the Person Centred Approach and Focusing. I am happily ensconced in teaching and training Focusing Groups, Certified Focusing Professionals and Focusing-Oriented Therapists, as well as offering individual therapy sessions. I have continued my learning into the fields of Thinking at the Edge, Philosophy of the Implicit, Somatic Trauma Therapy, and Polyvagal Theory, all of which I incorporate into my life and into all levels of my training programs and sessions.

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I find that each of these approaches are relevant to today’s ever-changing times, in fact I believe that their development and practice are a response to our intricate and often confusing world. I also feel that a good sense of humor is imperative to our therapeutic modes and wholeheartedly believe in E.Gendlin’s “The Politics of Giving away Therapy” and my guiding light is Roger’s view that “a person is a fluid process, not a fixed and static entity: a flowing river of change, not a block of solid material: a continually changing constellation of potentialities, not a fixed quantity of traits.”

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

PANEL 2 Speaker Bios

Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Carol Wolter-Gustafson

As a facilitator, therapist, and university adjunct, the person-centered approach has been her theoretical and experiential home-base since her first group encounter group with Carl Rogers.

Carol has explored human wholeness, brokenness, and our power in our personal and social relationships. Her work is cultivating alternatives to the destructive, “us vs them” zeitgeist in her writing and Going Global Workshops.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Colin Lago Colin Lago, D. Litt, was Director of the Counselling Service at the University of Sheffield, U.K., from 1987 – 2003. He now works as an independent counsellor/psychotherapist, trainer and supervisor. Trained initially as an engineer, Colin went on to become a full time youth worker in London and a teacher in Jamaica before becoming a counselling practitioner. He is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Deeply committed to transcultural concerns within psychotherapy, he has published articles, videos and books on the subject. To balance professional demands he loves to run, bike and dance!

In relation to this talk, Colin notes that he was fortunate to come into the profession in its early days, 1977, the same year as BAC emerged from the Standing Conference! Colin first came across the work of Carl Rogers whilst initially training as a youth worker in his early twenties, (some seven years before he trained as a therapist). He found Carl’s books by accident whilst perusing the college library shelves and was immediately impacted by the resonance inside himself of these ideas ‘which spoke to him directly’. They helped to affirm his own confidence in his beliefs and approach to others.

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Inevitably, there are many strands to this developing story, as with everyone’s biography, but Colin was fortunate in joining with his new colleague who already had worked with Rogers in international gatherings. Inevitably, attendance at international conferences and large group experiences soon followed, enabling Colin to meet colleagues from many parts of the world. Such connections form the background against which this presentation will be based.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Norman Chambers

Dr. Norman Chambers holds directorships of both the Multicultural Counseling and Consulting Center, a community-based counseling center, and the Carl Rogers Institute of Psychotherapy Training and Supervision, an institute whose principle focus is providing opportunities for the study and the development of personcentered counseling and psychotherapy. He is licensed in both Clinical Psychology and Marriage, Family, Therapy. He has been a practicing Clinician for more than five decades.

Of particular note, is his vast amount of experience working therapeutically with underserved and culturally diverse populations. Additionally, he has had more than four decades of person-centered organizational development, trainings, and consultancies on the local, national, and international levels. Dr. Chambers has been Professor Emeritus from San Diego State University since 2005. He has had extensive experience serving as a facilitator of learning. He holds a Ph.D. from United States International University.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Jan Hawkins

Jan Hawkins is a Person-Centred practitioner, supervisor and freelance trainer. In 1994 Jan created, and co-facilitated, a Diploma course in Counselling Survivors of Childhood Abuse, the first initiative of its kind in Europe.

For the past twenty-five plus years, through The FDP, Jan has continued to run post counselling study days with a conviction that experiential learning is imperative for continually developing and deepening the core attitudinal qualities of the PersonCentred Approach. By aiming to provide ongoing opportunities for personal and professional development in an embodied Person-Centred environment, Jan endeavours to support and encourage practitioners as they develop and evolve their own unique and creative selves as therapist. She recognises her own richness of learning through the diversity of those who share in these days. For twenty two years, Jan also facilitated a choir, where people of all Dis/Abilities, neurodiversity, cultural and ethnic difference, LGBTQIA+ – an ‘everyone is welcome’ group of 60 in the end, made wonderful music together.

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The PCA, a way of being in all her endeavours, a journey of continual discovery, of encounters with colleagues, friends, family, clients, supervisees which bring hope and awe frequently. Jan has worked predominantly with those who suffered early childhood trauma, and those whose lives are marginalised by their cognitive and communication differences.

Having been involved in a variety of therapeutic trainings prior to arriving home in the Person-Centred Approach, Jan’s passion for connection, and awe in the resilience and Survival of so many who had never previously had an attuning relationship, means that she experiences her work as love in action.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Martin Lange

Martín Lange is a counselor and FOT who works in private practice with individuals and groups based on the Person-Centered Approach. He has been facilitating counselor training for 20 years.

He is part of PCE7, a group of Person-Centered professionals dedicated to organizing Encounters and forums, training professionals, and workshops for the community in general.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Will Stillwell

Will Stillwell, Ph.D., is a long-time member of the professional-personal community, The Center for Studies of the Person, in La Jolla California. There, somewhat retired now from his consulting and academic career, he continues his thirty-seven year association with work at The La Jolla Program. In the Program’s encounter process — originally inspired and supervised by Carl R. Rogers — participants share, risk, and learn to build safe and supportive personal and social enviro0nments together.

He is author of a number of articles and books. Through his directorship of the Rogers Memorial Library he has curated and edited a number of video productions concerned with Person-Centered approaches.

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Future of the Person-Centred Approach 2026

Marcia Tassinari Marcia Alves Tassinari, Psychologist, Specialist in Clinical Psychology, Master’s and PhD in Psychology. She founded the Center for Studies of the Person in 1975, remaining at the institution for 35 years. She founded and remained for 10 years at GFH – Human Flourishing Group. She taught higher education from 1976 to 2021 at private universities. Visiting professor and consultant for several Specialization courses in Psychology and Training of Person-Centered Psychotherapists in Brazil.

Since 1975, she has practiced clinical psychology in a private practice, consulting adults, couples and families. Founding partner of the Conexão Formativa Project, where she coordinates the Specialization course in Clinical Psychology in the Person-Centered Approach, in addition to being a teacher, organizer of Psychological Duty courses (Stand by Service), Study Group and organizes all national and international events of the Conexão Formativa Project. National and international speaker. Author of several books and articles, including: Humanist Dialogues: Meeting of Three Generations – volume 1; Empathy: the ability to shed light on human dignity and On Call and the Psychological Urgency Clinic; Humanist Dialogues: Meeting of Three Generations – volume 2.

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