The Encounters Podcast

What if therapy does harm? Many people have had harmful experiences in therapy, and harm can happen even if the therapist stays within ethical guidelines. In this encounter, we dive deeply into what constitutes harm and discuss whether the person-centred approach is immune from causing harm (spoilers - it’s not). 

Rachael (she/her) speaks to Erin Stevens (she/they), a therapist, supervisor and trainer who primarily works with people who have had previous experiences of harm in therapy.

In a world which talks loudly about ‘toxic’ masculinity, where do love and tenderness fit in? In this episode, we encounter the ways in which masculinity is policed, the place of love and sensitivity in masculine identity, and what it means to ‘be a man’ in therapy – and a male therapist. 

Rachael speaks to Scott Reeve (he/him), a person-centred therapist, supervisor and trainer.

In this encounter we navigate the potentially tricky, nerve-racking but also exciting moment of starting out in private practice as a therapist. If you are just starting out, and negotiating what that means to you, we hope this is one of the conversations you’ll want to hear. 

Rachael speaks to Jacob Wiles (he/his), a researcher, musician and person-centred psychotherapist.

Sexual feelings in the therapy space can be pushed underground and made into a taboo topic. How do we navigate sexual feelings in our clients and ourselves across differences of gender and sexuality, while at the same time staying tuned to the reality of our bodies and our practice ethics?

Rachael speaks to Kate Hoyland (she/her), a person-centred counselling psychologist and producer of The Encounters Podcast.

Is it even possible to imagine alternatives to a ‘medical model’ of therapy? What if person-centred therapy wasn’t a form of health care, but a particular kind of learning? This encounter explores the implications of this idea for the person-centred approach. Can it help create a world in which distress isn’t pathologised?

Rachael speaks to David Murphy (he/him), a therapist, supervisor and researcher in the person-centred approach.