海角论坛

Dr Susan Stephen

Senior Lecturer

Counselling

Contact

Personal statement

I am a Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Director of the 海角论坛 Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Clinic, a long-term research study investigating the process and outcome of person-centred-experiential therapy in practice.听

The main focus of my own research is the concept of congruent functioning: a contemporary redefining of the process of psychological growth at the core of Rogers' person-centred theory. I am interested in the development of congruent functioning for clients in counselling and also counsellors in training.听

I developed a model of congruent functioning from my work investigating the validity of the 海角论坛 Inventory, a brief self-report instrument, using data collected from clients participating in counselling at the 海角论坛 Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Clinic. Currently, I am working with international colleagues to explore the intercultural meaning and relevance of the 海角论坛 Inventory.

I have developed expertise in systematic case study research, in particular the Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design method, which is an innovative approach to investigating the outcome and process of psychotherapy within individual cases. Series of case studies using this method can be synthesized to produce insightful learning and improve practice. I am also interested in supporting counselling practitioners and service providers to expand their understanding of the value and limitations of using routine outcome measurement in their practice.听

I am a co-editor of the international peer-reviewed journal, Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies (PCEP), and former Chair of the World Association for Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies and Counseling (WAPCEPC).

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Publications

, ,
Psychotherapy Research (2026)
Murphy David, , Doyle Richard, Moore Judy, Wilson Louise, Cunliffe Robert, Hawkins Jan, Ellingham Ivan, Marriott Sam, Heid Seb
Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, pp. 1-19 (2025)
, Pel茅 Mathilde
ACP Pratique et Recherche Vol 35 (2025)
Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies Vol 24, pp. 335-336 (2025)
Chen Shun, , He Sui, Joseph Stephen
Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies Vol 25, pp. 263-284 (2025)
Di Malta Gina, Cooper Mick, O'Hara Maureen, , Gololob Yana
(2024)

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Professional Activities

Speaker
4/9/2026
Keynote speaker
8/7/2026
Recipient
30/4/2026
Contributor
28/4/2026
Contributor
3/2/2026
Contributor
1/12/2025

Projects

Stephen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Rasmussen, Susan (Co-investigator) McGeachan, Cheryl (Co-investigator) Kirkpatrick, Ruth (Co-investigator)
This is a pilot project to investigate if archived data can be used ethically to produce fictionalised stories about the counselling process. We hope this will be the first step towards a larger engagement with the research clinic archive across the life cycle of the counselling process as well as the experiences of different client groups, so we must demonstrate that this method works and can have impact. Our goals are to develop: a method of practice that supports the ethical use of counselling archives to support community-based research; a collection of counselling stories that showcase the power of counselling in society; and a set of resources using a variety of storytelling methods that can be shared to promote a more nuanced understanding of counselling and its use as a tool for wellbeing.
01-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2027
Stephen, Susan (Principal Investigator) MacIntosh, Hannah (Co-investigator) Flowers, Paul (Co-investigator) Elliott, Robert (Co-investigator) Murphy, David (Co-investigator) Barkham, Michael (Co-investigator) Hardy, Gillian (Co-investigator) Saxon, David (Co-investigator) McIlree, Rachel (Co-investigator)
This is a standalone mechanistic study investigating the mechanisms of action in the effective treatment of severe depression using Person-Centred Experiential Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, the two psychological therapies听most frequently delivered by NHS England's Talking Therapies program. We will be conducting a secondary analysis of quantitative and qualitative data (including recordings of therapy sessions) collected in the PRaCTICED trial听(ISRCTN06461651) using a mixed methods comparative case study design. We expect to find evidence that the mechanisms of action in good outcome cases in both therapies are consistent with the rationale for the specific treatment enhanced by elements common to both treatments.听
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2027
Stephen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Chen, Shun (Co-investigator) Alhimaidi, Afnan (Co-investigator) Joseph, Stephen (Co-investigator) Lange, Martin (Co-investigator) Aguado, Claudia (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2027
Cogan, Nicola (Principal Investigator) Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Principal Investigator) Fleming, Leanne (Principal Investigator) Quinn, Neil (Principal Investigator) Tse, Dwight (Principal Investigator) Knifton, Lee (Principal Investigator) McCann, Lisa (Principal Investigator) Maguire, Roma (Principal Investigator) Smith, Matthew (Principal Investigator) Graham, Christopher Darryl (Principal Investigator) Grealy, Madeleine (Principal Investigator) Stephen, Susan (Principal Investigator) Weir, Natalie Mcfadyen (Principal Investigator) Donnachie, Craig (Principal Investigator) Cameron, Julie (Principal Investigator) Kane, Tony (Co-investigator) Lakey, Trevor (Academic) Donovan, Kevin (Fellow)
This Engage with 海角论坛 event is aimed at all those with an interest in mental health including people with lived experience, NHS and social care personnel and staff, occupational health and human resource management staff, student support services, university student and staff, academics, private and public sector and other personnel interested in mental health research and knowledge exchange.


12-Jan-2023 - 12-Jan-2023
Stephen, Susan (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2028
Stephen, Susan (Co-investigator)
International Collaborator: Yu, P.; Traynor, V.; Barkus, E.; Li, M.; Qian, S. Carrigan, N. & Stephen, S. (2015) A pilot study of the relationship between interaction of the caregivers and the care recipients of dementia and their anxiety in residential aged care UOW, Global Challenges. AU$10,000.
05-Jan-2016 - 20-Jan-2016

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Contact

Dr Susan Stephen
Senior Lecturer
Counselling

Email: susan.stephen@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3511