John K. Wood was one of the leading theoreticians and practitioners of the person-centred approach, its psychology and therapy. This welcome and well-presented book brings his work to a wider audience. His writings - on the person-centred approach as an approach, and on principles, groups and culture - reveal not only a widely-read and rigorous intellectual who is fearless in bringing his critical reflection to bear on his subjects, but also a passionate man deeply committed to radical practice and social change.Keith Tudor, Person-Centred Practitioner, Director of Temenos, Sheffield, UKIn this book, which is in many ways his legacy to his colleagues throughout the world, John is bold enough to express thoughts and feelings which are the outcome of a life lived in depth and of a fidelity to an approach which he believed could be transformative and whose potential had only been partly glimpsed. The emphasis throughout is indeed on an approach as John is quick to castigate those who, in his opinion, have become needlessly caught up in attempts to differentiate the person-centred approach from client-centred therapy or to categorise it as a psychology, a philosophy, a school or movement. The final chapter concludes with a breathtakingly simple summary of the quintessence of this approach which Carl Rogers spent a lifetime embodying and implementing. A"The most important thing Rogers had to sayA", John writes, A"was simply A"yesA" to personal improvement, to real learning, to constructive behaviour, to nourishing relationships, to honest thinking, to lifeA".Professor Brian Thorne, Norwich Centre, Norwich, UK
