The evolution of person-centered encounter: creating egalitarian environments for mattering, meaning & healing

ABSTRACT

The article revisits and recounts the history of the evolutionary developmental nature of change in person-centered encounter group processes and emphases over 5 decades, as viewed from the author’s participation over that time period, focusing on the socially conscious, egalitarian, feminist, linguistic equity, power, and political elements of change, as central to that direction.

L’évolution de la rencontre selon l’Approche centrée sur la personne: créer des environnements collectifs marquants, porteurs de sens et de guérison.

Cet article revisite et retrace l’histoire de la nature évolutive développementale du changement dans les processus de groupe de rencontre centrés sur la personne. Il les met en évidence à partir de la participation de l’auteur à de tels groupes sur une période de plus de cinq décennies. Il se focalise sur le point central de ce mouvement: la conscience sociale, l’équité linguistique, égalitaire, féministe, le pouvoir et les ingrédients politiques du changement.

Die Evolution des Personzentrierten Encounters: eine auf Gleichheit beruhende Umgebung für Bedeutung, Sinn und Heilung schaffen

Zusammenfassung: Der Artikel greift die geschichtliche Entwicklung des Encounters auf und erzählt sie neu als evolutionäre Form von Veränderung in Personzentrierten Encounter-Gruppenprozessen sowie deren Schwerpunkte über fünf Dekaden, wie sie der Autor sieht, der sie über diese Zeitspanne hinweg als Teilnehmer erlebt hat. Er fokussiert auf das gesellschaftlich Bewusste, das Egalitäre, Feministische, die linguistische Gleichheit, Macht und politische Elemente der Veränderung, die alle wesentlich für diese Richtung sind.

A evolução do encontro centrado na pessoa: criação de ambientes igualitários para cuidar, significar e curar.

Este artigo revisita e conta a história da natureza evolutiva desenvolvimentista da mudança nos processos de grupos de encontro centrados na pessoa e enfatiza cinco décadas, consideradas a partir do ponto de vista da participação do autor ao longo desse período de tempo, focando-se nos elementos de mudança socialmente conscientes, igualitários, feministas, de equidade linguística, de poder e políticos, como sendo centrais a essa direção.

La Evolución del Encuentro Centrado en la Persona: Creando ambientes igualitarios para la importación, el significado y la curación

El artículo retoma y relata la historia de la naturaleza evolutiva y de desarrollo del cambio en los procesos de encuentros centrados en la persona a lo largo de 5 décadas, desde la vision de la participación del autor durante ese período de tiempo, centrándose en la conciencia social, igualitaria, feminista, la equidad lingüística, el poder y los elementos políticos del cambio, como elementos centrales en esa dirección.

KEYWORDS:

• Person-centered
• feminist
• evolutionary encounter
• language equity
• power
• politics & PCA
• facilitator roles
• encountering conflict
• in-spiriting in-dwelling

Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge gratefully my young therapist colleague Kim Bates Pierce for her re-readings, encouragement, counseling, and her computer technical skills. Each of these gifts enabled me to move this article forward to bring it more in alignment with the conditions required for publication; as did the expertise, ample patience and ready willingness of the Editors and publisher of the Journal to assist me similarly in these final moments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Lists of staff, co-directors, advisors and invited guest presenters of all programs mentioned in this paper are available on request from the author at [email protected].

2. Center for Studies of the Person. Interviews are available digitally from the CSP Memorial Library. Retrieved from https://www.centerfortheperson.org/Carl_Rogers_Memorial_Library.php

3. From personal conversations with the author & others, and published and unpublished work by M. Villas-Boas Bowen.

4. Originally delivered orally in 1978 at El Escorial Workshop, Spain

5. Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Trust in God, but tie up your camel. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199539536.001.0001/acref-9780199539536-e-2318?rskey=VL90ZX&result=2260

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gay Leah Barfield

Gay Leah Barfield, Ph.D., Lic. MFT, was a Fellow at the Center for Studies of the Person for nearly 30 years, where she and other women colleagues created one of the first Women's Centers in San Diego, and the “Living Now” program. With Carl R. Rogers, she co-founded and co-directed the Carl Rogers Institute for Peace, a project applying person-centered principles to real and potential crisis situations. Currently semi-retired, she continues to offer workshops, see clients, and mentress young therapists through what she sees as an inspirited person-centered gender egalitarian and socially conscious lens. She is writing about her experiences over the past 50 years as a “gatherer,” social activist and determined idealist.