pccs Books Pete Saunders Student Writing 2023: 1st Award
To celebrate the life and work of therapist and writer Pete Sanders, PCCS Books and the Person-Centred Association (tPCA) created a new award to support person-centred students in their studies.
Pete Sanders was deeply committed to encouraging trainee counsellors as they progress in their first steps in counselling. He saw every new generation of students as the seedcorn that ensures the person-centred approach continues to grow and develop to meet new and emerging needs and challenges.
The award was created with the aim of recognising and rewarding creative, critical thinking among students of the person-centred approach. The award was for a piece of written prose – an essay, article, review or reflective writing – that critiqued, interrogated and advanced person-centred theory and practice.
The award was created with the aim of recognising and rewarding creative, critical thinking among students of the person-centred approach.
I entered a piece entitled ‘How can Theory Originating from Lived Experience of Oppression Critique, Interrogate and Advance the Person-Centred Approach?’
The piece took an interdisciplinary approach and integrated ideas from Queer Theory, Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, Theology, Philosophy and Literature. It’s central premise is that Congruence requires a ‘both/and’ mode of thinking that can be found in in many theories originating from lived experience of oppression.
My piece was awarded the 1st prize and was published in tPCA’s Quarterly Review. You can read the piece here