A Devil’s Bargain: Meeting Psychiatric Diagnosis in Person-Centred Therapy
Joins us at the Spring Seminar by the Friends of Arkordia Seminar Series, with our guest speaker Dr Holt J.S. Hauser.
This presentation seeks to reflect, review, and expand upon the research efforts that lead to the publication of the article of the same title in the ADPCA’s Person-Centered Journal. Dr Hauser will explore the tension generated between a person-centred image of person with psychiatric diagnostic categories, acknowledging their inevitable meeting in mainstream cultural discourses of ‘neurodivergence’, ‘mental illness’ and the practice of psychotherapy. In doing so, Dr Hauser hopes to put forward an account of how the presentation of psychiatric diagnosis can impact therapeutic relationships in order to facilitate person-centred practitioner’s capacity to encounter this bourgeoning client group. The presentation will highlight the case study as a relational reflection of inquiry, as well as areas for further research regarding the risks and strengths of person-centred psychotherapy within a culture that seems to be trending towards diagnostic categories as a means of understanding Self, Other, and relationship.
Dr Holt J. S. Hauser is a private practitioner and teaching fellow based in Edinburgh, UK. He received his Doctorate in Psychotherapy and Counselling from the University of Edinburgh in 2020 and received his Post-graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2017 from the same institution. He operates a private practice, Holt Hauser Therapy, holds a teaching fellowship at the University of Edinburgh's Counselling, Psychotherapy and Applied Social Science subject area and acts as member of the clinical management team at the University of Edinburgh's Hope Park Counselling Centre. His publications most recently focus on person centred theories of practice, research philosophy, and relational aspects of qualitative inquiry in journals such as Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, Person Centred and Experiential Psychotherapies, and Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies. He has a particular research interest in the intersection between game play and psychotherapy, on which he wrote his doctoral thesis.
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The Friends of Arkordia Seminars are a series of talks of interest to professionals in the fields of counselling, psychotherapy, art therapy, psychology, social work, and related disciplines.
Arkordia is a charity entirely reliant on donations. We suggest a £10 donation to attend these events.
