John J. Prendergast, Ph.D.
John has taught a class on transpersonal counseling skills at the California Institute of Integral Studies for over a decade. He's an articulate and devoted advocate of non-dual psychotherapy, an approach to healing and transformation that uses presence-centered methods.
John Welwood
John gives occasional courses and workshops for therapists and health practitioners, including an annual course at Omega Institute. I’ve never attended his courses, but his book “Towards a Psychology of Awakening” demonstrates deep experience and understanding of presence-centered practice.
Saleem Berryman
I took two of Saleem’s courses on presence-centered
counseling and they were life-changing. He’s a gifted
teacher who also offers private sessions.
The Center for Self Leadership
The practitioner training offered by this organization is based on the work of psychologist Richard Schwartz (Internal Family Systems Therapy). This approach involves bringing the consciousness of the unconditioned self to less conscious parts of yourself. Training in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) will enrich your work with self and others, and you don't need to be a therapist to benefit from it. That said, IFS trainers differ significantly in their degree of spiritual grounding and skill level, so select the courses you take with care.
John Ruskan
John trains facilitators in his particular approach to emotional clearing, which appears to be closely aligned with presence-centered practice.
Peter Fenner
www.radiantmind.net/course_02.htm
I don’t know Peter’s work personally, but he’s one of the few people I’ve found offering comprehensive training in non-dual psychotherapy, an approach that uses presence-centered methods.
Diamond Heart Work
www.ridhwan.org/school/teachers.html
The Ridhwan school offers an intensive 7-year training program for those interested in facilitating the Diamond Approach developed by A.H. Almaas. Almaas' approach is clearly aligned with presence-centered practice, but I don't know to what extent his training program features presence-centered methods.
Hakomi
www.hakomi.com (training offered by Hakomi's founder Ron Kurtz and associates)
www.hakomiinstitute.com (training offered by Certified Hakomi Therapists)
I wish every helping professional on the planet could study Hakomi with Ron Kurtz; he's a master therapist, a skilled teacher, and a wise and compassionate human being. Hakomi helps people to enter into a state of mindfulness and use the body to access subconscious patterns. Its techniques are simple and powerful, and can be used by both therapists and individuals interested in self-study. I heartily recommend Hakomi to anyone interested in living a more conscious life; its skillful use of the body's wisdom provides an important missing piece in our current approach to emotional healing and personal transformation.
Practitioner Training
I offer an intensive, six-week tele-class in presence-centered facilitation skills called The Art of Unconditional Presence as well as a workshop in presence-centered facilitation skills for therapists and pastoral counselors. I'm not aware of many other classes in presence-centered methods except for those listed below. If you know of others I might include, please feel free to contact me.
