Mick Cooper is an internationally recognised author, trainer, and consultant in the field of humanistic, existential, and pluralistic therapies. He is a Chartered Psychologist, and Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton. Mick has facilitated workshops and lectures around the world, including New Zealand, Lithuania, and Florida. Mick's books include Existential Therapies (2nd ed., Sage, 2017), Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy (2nd ed., Sage, 2018), and Integrating Counselling and Psychotherapy: Directionality, Synergy, and Social Change (Sage, 2019). Mick’s principal areas of research have been in shared decision-making/personalising therapy, and counselling for young people in schools. In 2014, Mick received the Carmi Harari Mid-Career Award from Division 32 of the American Psychological Association. He is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the Academy of Social Sciences. Mick’s latest book explores the contribution that counselling and psychotherapy theory and practice can make to wider social progress and justice: Psychology at the Heart of Social Change: Towards a Progressive Vision for Society (Bristol University, 2023).
Workshops
Details of forthcoming in-person workshops can be found on my Forthcoming Events tab.
Online versions of all my workshops can be found here.
Videos
Practice examples
Talks and Dialogues
A playlist of downloadable podcasts of my work on pluralistic therapy, existential therapy, and others areas of counselling and psychotherapy is available here (Soundcloud).
An interview for the BPS about my work and background, with a particular focus on counselling psychology, is available here.
An interview in Spanish about my life and reflections is available here (p.25). (Una entrevista en español sobre mi vida y reflexiones está disponible aquí).
An interview with my daughter, Maya, about a film she is making about our forefather, Moishe, who was kidnapped as a young Jewish boy in Ukraine to fight in the Czar’s army (access here).
Recent Blog Posts
Blog Index
-
Research Writing Pointers
23
- Mar 22, 2023 Measure Development and Testing Research: Some Pointers Mar 22, 2023
- Feb 18, 2022 Getting Published in Higher Impact Journals: Some Pointers Feb 18, 2022
- Nov 5, 2021 Quantitative Analysis: Some Pointers Nov 5, 2021
- Oct 21, 2021 The ‘Research Mindset’: Some Pointers Oct 21, 2021
- Oct 19, 2021 Overview of the Thesis: Some Pointers Oct 19, 2021
- Oct 12, 2021 Research Aims and Questions: Some Pointers Oct 12, 2021
- Jan 6, 2021 How to (almost) Fail a PhD: A Personal Account Jan 6, 2021
- Oct 16, 2020 Recruiting Research Participants: Some Pointers Oct 16, 2020
- Oct 12, 2020 Applying for a PhD in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Some Pointers Oct 12, 2020
- Feb 18, 2020 Essay Writing in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Top Tips Feb 18, 2020
- Oct 29, 2019 The Introduction: Some Pointers Oct 29, 2019
- Oct 17, 2019 Evaluating and Auditing Counselling and Psychotherapy Services: Some Pointers Oct 17, 2019
- Mar 21, 2019 Publishing your research: Some pointers Mar 21, 2019
- Mar 18, 2019 The Viva: Some Pointers Mar 18, 2019
- Mar 8, 2019 Publishing a Therapy Book: Some Pointers Mar 8, 2019
- Dec 11, 2018 Presentations: Some Pointers Dec 11, 2018
- Dec 7, 2018 The Discussion Section: Some Pointers Dec 7, 2018
- Nov 23, 2018 The Results Section: Some pointers Nov 23, 2018
- Nov 16, 2018 The Methods Section: Some Pointers Nov 16, 2018
- Nov 8, 2018 The Literature Review: Some Pointers Nov 8, 2018
- Oct 13, 2017 Choosing Your Research Topic: Some Pointers Oct 13, 2017
- Aug 17, 2017 Writing: Some Pointers Aug 17, 2017
- Aug 11, 2017 Five Simple Ways to Radically Improve your Papers Aug 11, 2017
-
Directionality and Goals
14
- Jun 17, 2020 SMART Goals for Counselling and Psychotherapy? Try HEALING CRISPS Jun 17, 2020
- Jun 15, 2020 What is Evil? A Directional Perspective Jun 15, 2020
- Feb 3, 2020 How Different are the Different Therapies? A Directional Perspective Feb 3, 2020
- Sep 5, 2019 The 'Actualising Tendency': A Directional Account Sep 5, 2019
- Jul 19, 2019 What Does it Mean to Say that Life is Meaningless? A Directional Account Jul 19, 2019
- Apr 1, 2019 Synergies are Good: Why ‘Win-Win’ Configurations Matter More than you Might Think Apr 1, 2019
- Nov 3, 2018 Why Doesn't Therapy Always 'Work'? A Directional Perspective Nov 3, 2018
- Oct 22, 2018 If people have a natural tendency to 'actualise' their potential, how is it we get so f...ed up? Oct 22, 2018
- Nov 3, 2017 Critical parent or lazy slob? What's the real conflict at the heart of human being? Nov 3, 2017
- Aug 16, 2017 How do you go about getting what you want from life? Seven stages that might get missed Aug 16, 2017
- Aug 12, 2017 If you're 'prevention focused', don't expect to be happy (and don't expect to be calm if you're focused on promotion) Aug 12, 2017
- Aug 5, 2017 Approach trumps avoidance Aug 5, 2017
- Aug 3, 2017 Feeling good means 'actualising' our directions in life Aug 3, 2017
- Jul 24, 2017 Forging new habits Jul 24, 2017
-
Person-Centred
14
- Jun 10, 2024 Is Person-Centred Therapy about how we Treat People or How we Conceptualise People? Jun 10, 2024
- Nov 3, 2022 Person-Centred Therapy: Four Currents Nov 3, 2022
- Sep 29, 2021 The Branches of the Person-Centred Tree: Some Pointers Sep 29, 2021
- Sep 21, 2021 Non-Directivity: Therapeutic and Meta-Therapeutic Perspectives Sep 21, 2021
- Jul 9, 2020 'Advice' in Counselling and Psychotherapy: What is it Good For? Jul 9, 2020
- Jul 1, 2020 Non-Directivity: Some Critical Reflections Jul 1, 2020
- Jan 29, 2020 Person-Centred Therapy is Not One Thing: An Introduction to the Tribes Jan 29, 2020
- Sep 5, 2019 The 'Actualising Tendency': A Directional Account Sep 5, 2019
- Jul 4, 2019 Person-Centred Therapy: Myths and Realities Jul 4, 2019
- Jul 2, 2019 Is Person-Centred Therapy Effective? The Facts Jul 2, 2019
- May 17, 2019 What do clients want from therapy (and is it what person-centred therapists might want them to want)? May 17, 2019
- Apr 23, 2019 Person-centered therapy: A pluralistic perspective Apr 23, 2019
- Apr 2, 2019 Carl Rogers's 'core conditions': Are they necessary and sufficient? Apr 2, 2019
- Oct 22, 2018 If people have a natural tendency to 'actualise' their potential, how is it we get so f...ed up? Oct 22, 2018
-
Self-Help
12
- May 2, 2023 The Coronation: Reflections from a Republican Therapist May 2, 2023
- Jun 17, 2020 SMART Goals for Counselling and Psychotherapy? Try HEALING CRISPS Jun 17, 2020
- Oct 7, 2019 Personal Therapy: A Reflexive Account Oct 7, 2019
- Jul 19, 2019 What Does it Mean to Say that Life is Meaningless? A Directional Account Jul 19, 2019
- Apr 1, 2019 Synergies are Good: Why ‘Win-Win’ Configurations Matter More than you Might Think Apr 1, 2019
- Oct 22, 2018 If people have a natural tendency to 'actualise' their potential, how is it we get so f...ed up? Oct 22, 2018
- Nov 3, 2017 Critical parent or lazy slob? What's the real conflict at the heart of human being? Nov 3, 2017
- Aug 16, 2017 How do you go about getting what you want from life? Seven stages that might get missed Aug 16, 2017
- Aug 12, 2017 If you're 'prevention focused', don't expect to be happy (and don't expect to be calm if you're focused on promotion) Aug 12, 2017
- Aug 5, 2017 Approach trumps avoidance Aug 5, 2017
- Aug 3, 2017 Feeling good means 'actualising' our directions in life Aug 3, 2017
- Jul 24, 2017 Forging new habits Jul 24, 2017
-
Pluralistic
11
- Sep 13, 2023 Using Research Evidence to Predict and Optimise Therapeutic Benefit: A Multilayered Approach Sep 13, 2023
- Nov 3, 2022 Person-Centred Therapy: Four Currents Nov 3, 2022
- Sep 29, 2021 The Branches of the Person-Centred Tree: Some Pointers Sep 29, 2021
- Sep 21, 2021 Non-Directivity: Therapeutic and Meta-Therapeutic Perspectives Sep 21, 2021
- Jan 25, 2021 Working with Client Preferences in Counselling and Psychotherapy Jan 25, 2021
- Jul 9, 2020 'Advice' in Counselling and Psychotherapy: What is it Good For? Jul 9, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020 So you Want to be a 'Pluralistic Therapist'... Mar 6, 2020
- Feb 3, 2020 How Different are the Different Therapies? A Directional Perspective Feb 3, 2020
- Jun 17, 2019 The Inventory of Preferences (C-NIP): A User's Guide Jun 17, 2019
- Apr 23, 2019 Person-centered therapy: A pluralistic perspective Apr 23, 2019
- Apr 9, 2019 What is Pluralism? Apr 9, 2019
-
Research Findings
10
- Jul 3, 2024 Hungry Like the Wolf for Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Duran Duran and Me Jul 3, 2024
- Sep 13, 2023 Using Research Evidence to Predict and Optimise Therapeutic Benefit: A Multilayered Approach Sep 13, 2023
- Jul 9, 2020 'Advice' in Counselling and Psychotherapy: What is it Good For? Jul 9, 2020
- Jul 1, 2020 Non-Directivity: Some Critical Reflections Jul 1, 2020
- Mar 18, 2020 Relational Depth in Online Therapy: Can it be Experienced, and What Facilitates and Inhibits It? Mar 18, 2020
- Jan 6, 2020 The Chronic Strategies of Disconnection Inventory: A Practice Example Jan 6, 2020
- Jul 9, 2019 Why I Love Qualitative Research Jul 9, 2019
- Jul 2, 2019 Is Person-Centred Therapy Effective? The Facts Jul 2, 2019
- May 17, 2019 What do clients want from therapy (and is it what person-centred therapists might want them to want)? May 17, 2019
- Apr 2, 2019 Carl Rogers's 'core conditions': Are they necessary and sufficient? Apr 2, 2019
-
Training
9
- Oct 12, 2021 Research Aims and Questions: Some Pointers Oct 12, 2021
- Jan 6, 2021 How to (almost) Fail a PhD: A Personal Account Jan 6, 2021
- Oct 12, 2020 Applying for a PhD in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Some Pointers Oct 12, 2020
- Jul 17, 2020 Online Counselling: A Review of Two Brief CPD Training Courses Jul 17, 2020
- Jul 1, 2020 Non-Directivity: Some Critical Reflections Jul 1, 2020
- Mar 18, 2020 How to Record a Lecture in Powerpoint Mar 18, 2020
- Mar 6, 2020 So you Want to be a 'Pluralistic Therapist'... Mar 6, 2020
- Oct 7, 2019 Personal Therapy: A Reflexive Account Oct 7, 2019
- Jun 10, 2019 All the things I hate about watching myself do counselling practice (and a few I can just about bear) Jun 10, 2019
-
Politics
4
- May 2, 2023 The Coronation: Reflections from a Republican Therapist May 2, 2023
- Dec 9, 2019 Politics in Counselling and Psychotherapy Dec 9, 2019
- Aug 7, 2017 What we've learnt from therapy that can help make a better world Aug 7, 2017
- Aug 5, 2017 Approach trumps avoidance Aug 5, 2017
-
Relational Depth
4
- Apr 14, 2020 Relational Depth at a Time of Coronavirus Apr 14, 2020
- Mar 18, 2020 Relational Depth in Online Therapy: Can it be Experienced, and What Facilitates and Inhibits It? Mar 18, 2020
- Jan 6, 2020 The Chronic Strategies of Disconnection Inventory: A Practice Example Jan 6, 2020
- Oct 10, 2017 Relational depth: Some frequently asked questions Oct 10, 2017
-
Personal
3
- Jul 3, 2024 Hungry Like the Wolf for Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Duran Duran and Me Jul 3, 2024
- Dec 15, 2023 Kitty Cooper: Celebrating A Life Dec 15, 2023
- Aug 28, 2023 Cinema Paradise, Soho: Growing up with Contemporary Films Aug 28, 2023
-
Evaluation
2
- Sep 13, 2023 Using Research Evidence to Predict and Optimise Therapeutic Benefit: A Multilayered Approach Sep 13, 2023
- Mar 22, 2023 Measure Development and Testing Research: Some Pointers Mar 22, 2023
-
Online Therapy
2
- Jul 17, 2020 Online Counselling: A Review of Two Brief CPD Training Courses Jul 17, 2020
- Mar 18, 2020 Relational Depth in Online Therapy: Can it be Experienced, and What Facilitates and Inhibits It? Mar 18, 2020
-
Preferences
2
- Sep 13, 2023 Using Research Evidence to Predict and Optimise Therapeutic Benefit: A Multilayered Approach Sep 13, 2023
- Jan 25, 2021 Working with Client Preferences in Counselling and Psychotherapy Jan 25, 2021
-
Existential
1
- Jul 19, 2019 What Does it Mean to Say that Life is Meaningless? A Directional Account Jul 19, 2019
-
Young People
1
- Sep 8, 2017 Every school should have a full-time mental health specialist Sep 8, 2017
Latest Books
Please note
Sorry, I am not able to offer individual career advice or guidance on individual cases. For career advice, you can contact the following professional organisations: BACP, UKCP, and BPS.
If you are experiencing psychological difficulties or distress, I would always recommend that you discuss this with your GP. Links for urgent mental health support are available here. To find a therapist, there is the BACP Therapist Directory, UKCP Therapist Directory, and the BPS Find a Psychologist site.
No liability will attach to the University of Roehampton as a result of the training and consultancy work presented on this website, which Mick is carrying out in a private capacity.