John Heron
Encyclopedia
John Heron is a pioneer in the creation of a participatory research
method in the social sciences, called co-operative inquiry, which was based on his work in 1968-69 on the phenomenology of social encounter, and which has been applied by practitioners in many fields of professional and personal development. He is committed to the process of co-operative inquiry, in whatever field it is applied, as a basic form of relational and participative spiritual practice
.
Heron was the founder and director of the Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey
from 1970 to 1977, the first university-based centre for humanistic and transpersonal psychology
and education in Europe. He was Assistant Director of the British Postgraduate Medical Federation at the University of London
from 1977 to 1985, in charge of an innovative programme of personal and professional development for hospital doctors and GPs, including a co-operative inquiry into whole-person medicine, out of which the British Holistic Medical Association was formed. He was the director of the International Centre for Co-operative Inquiry at Volterra
, Tuscany
, Italy
, from 1990 to 2000, where radical forms of spiritual inquiry were developed. He is co-director of the South Pacific Centre for Human Inquiry at Auckland, New Zealand from 2000 to the present, focussing on long-term co-operative inquiries into charismatic and relational spiritual practices.
Heron is a group facilitator and trainer in the fields of co-counselling
(in 1974 he was one of the founders of Co-Counselling International
after a split from the Re-evaluation Counseling
of Harvey Jackins
), co-operative inquiry and new paradigm research, educational and staff development, group facilitation
and interactive skills, management development, personal and transpersonal development, professional development in medicine, psychotherapy and the helping professions. He is also a researcher and author.
Heron was a group facilitator on UK TV programmes on the following topics: medical stress
(ITV, 1981), racism
(BBC2, 1985), AIDS
(Channel 4, 1987), Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses
(BBC2, 1990), divorce
(BBC2, 1991), parents and teenagers (BBC1, 1994).
One of the founders in the UK of each of the following: Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners, Co-counselling International, Institute for the Development of Human Potential, New Paradigm Research Group, Research Council for Complementary Medicine.
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
method in the social sciences, called co-operative inquiry, which was based on his work in 1968-69 on the phenomenology of social encounter, and which has been applied by practitioners in many fields of professional and personal development. He is committed to the process of co-operative inquiry, in whatever field it is applied, as a basic form of relational and participative spiritual practice
Spiritual practice
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the worlds great religions is that of walking a path...
.
Heron was the founder and director of the Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
from 1970 to 1977, the first university-based centre for humanistic and transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience....
and education in Europe. He was Assistant Director of the British Postgraduate Medical Federation at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
from 1977 to 1985, in charge of an innovative programme of personal and professional development for hospital doctors and GPs, including a co-operative inquiry into whole-person medicine, out of which the British Holistic Medical Association was formed. He was the director of the International Centre for Co-operative Inquiry at Volterra
Volterra
Volterra, known to the ancient Etruscans as Velathri, to the Romans as Volaterrae, is a town and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy.-History:...
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, from 1990 to 2000, where radical forms of spiritual inquiry were developed. He is co-director of the South Pacific Centre for Human Inquiry at Auckland, New Zealand from 2000 to the present, focussing on long-term co-operative inquiries into charismatic and relational spiritual practices.
Heron is a group facilitator and trainer in the fields of co-counselling
Co-counselling
Co-counselling is a grassroots, low-cost method of personal change based on reciprocal peer counseling. It uses simple methods that can be seen as a refinement of "you tell me your problems and I'll tell you mine"...
(in 1974 he was one of the founders of Co-Counselling International
Co-Counselling International
Co-Counselling International is an international peer network of co-counsellors .- History :...
after a split from the Re-evaluation Counseling
Re-evaluation Counseling
Re-evaluation Counseling or RC is an organization founded by Harvey Jackins in the 1950s and led by him until his death in 1999. It introduced a procedure called "co-counseling", which Jackins said was a new and effective method of helping people and bringing about social reform. RC teaches...
of Harvey Jackins
Harvey Jackins
Carl Harvey Jackins was the founder, leader and principal theorist of Re-evaluation Counseling .-Early life:Jackins was born in Northern Idaho on June 28, 1916....
), co-operative inquiry and new paradigm research, educational and staff development, group facilitation
Facilitation
The term facilitation is broadly used to describe any activity which makes tasks for others easy. For example:* Facilitation is used in business and organizational settings to ensure the designing and running of successful meetings....
and interactive skills, management development, personal and transpersonal development, professional development in medicine, psychotherapy and the helping professions. He is also a researcher and author.
Heron was a group facilitator on UK TV programmes on the following topics: medical stress
Chronic stress
Chronic stress is the response to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period over which an individual perceives he or she has no control. It involves an endocrine system response in which occurs a release of corticosteroids...
(ITV, 1981), racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
(BBC2, 1985), AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
(Channel 4, 1987), Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
(BBC2, 1990), divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
(BBC2, 1991), parents and teenagers (BBC1, 1994).
One of the founders in the UK of each of the following: Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners, Co-counselling International, Institute for the Development of Human Potential, New Paradigm Research Group, Research Council for Complementary Medicine.
Books
- Feeling and Personhood: Psychology in Another Key (London, Sage, 1992)
- Co-operative Inquiry: Research into the Human Condition (London, Sage, 1996)
- Sacred Science: Person-centred Inquiry into the Spiritual and the Subtle (Ross-on-Wye, PCCS Books, 1998)
- The Complete Facilitator's Handbook (London, Kogan Page, 1999).
- Helping the Client: A Creative Practical Guide fifth edition (London, Saqe, 2001)
- Participatory Spirituality: A Farewell to Authoritarian Religion (New Zealand, Lulu Press, 2007)
External links
- Spiritual Inquiry: A Handbook of Radical Practice (essay)
- Notes on Spiritual Leadership and Relational Spirituality (based on notes that originally appeared in Pluralities/Integration newsletter. An introduction to the concepts of relational spirituality
- Website of the South Pacific Centre for Human Inquiry
- Photo, brief CV and list of publications
- The text of a personal talk on his work
- Papers available online