Stanley Richards, ARPS, TAAP was my Person-Centred mentor from 2007 - 2016.

Stanley Richards was born in the East End of London in 1926. His early work was in photography where he later gained his ARPS, also giving a number of training courses on the psychology of photography. 

His interest in philosophy and psychology led him ‘Dianetics: the modern science of mental health’. It was one of the first fringe, alternative psychotherapies - as distinct from the original schools derived from the work of Freud, Jung and Adler. Richards was among the first students of the Dianetics Foundation in London, later becoming a member of the teaching staff. In 1954 he opened the first school in Perth, Western Australia, dividing his time between writing and teaching. 

Since the early days of Dianetics in 1950, the psychology scene has proliferated and Richards trained and practiced in a number of therapeutic modalities, among them Neo-Freudian analysis, Rogerian, Gestalt, Encounter, Existential, Primal, Transactional Analysis and Jungian therapy. The Jungian tradition stimulated him to do a university study of Greek mythology for his books. In later years he lectured at the Albany Trust, a Jungian Training Institute in Christchurch, New Zealand and published three books on Archetypal Psychology and one book on Person-Centred Counselling. Richards also gave a number of courses on Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy. He was a founding member of The Association for Analytical Psychology and was in practice for 58 years. He published many essays on his website www.map.org.nz

This remarkable man sadly passed away in June 2017.

‘Person centred therapy was the beginning of my road to recovery from being completely cut-off from my intuitive Self and has enabled me to grow as an individual. It has been, and is, a painful journey and at the same time my life is enriched, rewarding and joyous.’

Judy Leith