Dr Susan Stephen
Senior Lecturer
Counselling
Personal statement
I am a Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Director of the Strathclyde Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Clinic, a long-term research study investigating the process and outcome of person-centred-experiential therapy in practice.
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.
I developed a model of congruent functioning from my work investigating the validity of the Strathclyde Inventory, a brief self-report instrument, using data collected from clients participating in counselling at the Strathclyde Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Clinic. Currently, I am working with international colleagues to explore the intercultural meaning and relevance of the Strathclyde 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.
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).
Publications
- Collaborative case formulation work in emotion focused therapy : a process microanalytic study
- Manastireanu Iulia Ligia, Elliott Robert, Stephen Susan
- Psychotherapy Research (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2026.2721635
- A clarification of seven logical fallacies that misrepresent person-centered therapy theory
- Murphy David, Stephen Susan, 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)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2025.2596611
- Un état d’être congruent : l’actualité de la théorie de Rogers
- Stephen Susan, Pelé Mathilde
- ACP Pratique et Recherche Vol 35 (2025)
- PCE 2024 conference. Person – Paideia – Politeia : developing the person of the PCE therapist
- Stephen Susan
- Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies Vol 24, pp. 335-336 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2025.2576955
- Measuring the Rogerian concept of the fully functioning person in Chinese : Translation and validation of the simplified Chinese version of the Strathclyde Inventory (C-SI-20)
- Chen Shun, Stephen Susan, He Sui, Joseph Stephen
- Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies Vol 25, pp. 263-284 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2025.2549058
- The non-directive attitude
- Stephen Susan
- The Handbook of Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling (2024) (2024)
Professional Activities
- Being human in a changing world. A person-centered-experiential perspective
- Keynote speaker
- 8/7/2026
- Lead organiser of 2026 Mary Kilborn Lecture
- Recipient
- 30/4/2026
- Workshop 4: Neurodiversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Contributor
- 28/4/2026
- Workshop 3: Ethnic Diversity in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Contributor
- 3/2/2026
- Workshop 2: Social Anxiety in Counselling & Psychotherapy
- Contributor
- 1/12/2025
- PCE Europe Symposium (Glasgow 2025)
- Organiser
- 20/11/2025
Projects
- ‘Where do we begin?’ Developing collaborative story-based methods for working with counselling archives
- 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
- An investigation of Mechanisms of Action in oPtimal Psychological therapies for Episodes of more severe Depression in adults
- 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 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 (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.
- 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2027
- An investigation of cultural differences in congruent functioning by collecting and comparing datasets using different language versions of the Strathclyde Inventory
- 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
- Mental Health Futures Collaborative
- 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 Strathclyde 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
- A place of useful research: Enhancing the impact of the Strathclyde Counselling & Psychotherapy Research Clinic
- Stephen, Susan (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2028
- A pilot study of the relationship between interaction of the caregivers and the care recipients of dementia and their anxiety in residential aged care
- 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
Contact
Dr
Susan
Stephen
Senior Lecturer
Counselling
Email: susan.stephen@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3511