The Person-Centred Practice journal archive is now online

What were person-centred practitioners writing about 30 years ago? What questions were they asking, what challenges were they facing, and how much of those conversations still resonates with our practice today?

We are delighted to share that historical editions of Person-Centred Practice, the former journal of the British Association for the Person-Centred Approach (BAPCA), are now freely available online through Liverpool John Moores University's Open Journals platform.

This collection offers an opportunity to explore decades of writing, research, reflection and discussion from within the person-centred community.

A window into person-centred practice

First published in 1993, Person-Centred Practice explored the Person-Centred Approach across a wide range of settings, including counselling and psychotherapy, education, training, research, organisations and wider society.

The articles offer more than a historical record. They provide an insight into the ideas, experiences and questions that practitioners were engaging with at the time.

Some discussions may feel familiar, while others offer perspectives that challenge or expand our understanding of the approach today.

For students, practitioners, educators and researchers, the archive provides an opportunity to engage with these earlier contributions and consider how person-centred thinking and practice have developed over time.

Making decades of writing accessible

Bringing these journals online has been a substantial undertaking, involving the careful scanning, preparation, organisation and uploading of individual articles.

We would like to acknowledge the considerable contributions of Susan Stephen, who supplied many of the earlier journals and physically scanned every article; Dave Hansen, tPCA trustee, who prepared and organised the digital articles; and Peter Blundell, who coordinated the project and worked with Liverpool John Moores University to bring the archive onto its Open Journals platform.

Thanks to their work, and the support of Liverpool John Moores University, these publications are no longer dependent on access to physical copies.

Individual articles can now be explored and referenced, making this collection a valuable resource for anyone interested in the Person-Centred Approach.

Preserving our past, informing our future

The Person-Centred Approach has always involved dialogue, exploration and a willingness to question.

Preserving these journals means that the contributions of previous generations of practitioners remain part of those ongoing conversations.

We hope the archive encourages people to revisit earlier writing, discover unfamiliar voices and reflect on how the ideas explored then connect with the challenges and opportunities we encounter today.

Read more about the project and explore the Person-Centred Practice journal archive.

Whether you are looking for something specific or simply curious about the history of our approach, we invite you to take a look.