1. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH Veniamin Kolpachnikov Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Russia venyak@gmail.com

2. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH Aims 1. To show that an elaborated psychotherapeutic/counselling approach might be seen as a subculture. 2. To argue that such a subculture might be seen as a convenient model for studying person in culture. 3. To provide an illustration.

3. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH Any definite elaborated psychological approach might be seen as a subculture or a psychotechnical system (Vygotsky L.S., 1982, Vasilyuk F.Ye., 1992; Kolpachnikov V.V., 2004) or social dispositive, i.e. “a radically heterogeneous assembly, including discourses, institutions, regalement decisions, laws, administrative acts, scientific statements, philosophical as well as moral and philanthropic positions” (Foukault M. ).

4. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH Most essential elements of any psychotechnical system: A goal, destination of the psychotechnical system: to what it is aimed, what change- in human psyche and activity-it is aimed to produce.

5. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH A coherent system of concepts, ideas, knowledge, more or less entire/complete. This constitutes a signal-symbolic system, which is used as a complex symbolic tool for comprehension, explaining and regulating (controlling, correcting) the practice.

6. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH A system of activity, which is tightly connected and underlies the conceptual signal-symbolic system. This activity is of crucial importance for creating effects of any practice, creating changes in a person. A conceptual system interconnected with the activity tend to create a Person’s “living world”( Husserl E.) and one’s “way of being” (Heidegger M.).

7. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH A Significant Other: a person who “carries” the integrity of psychotechnical system in its concepts and practice “on one’s shoulders”, incorporates it in one’s own life and activity.

8. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH An organized intensive interaction between the Significant Other (psychologist, parent, leader etc) and a Person (student,client, child, follower, etc). The Significant Other inspires, organizes, instructs, supports, controls, and corrects an activity of a Person in accord with the conceptual signal/symbolic system. Eventually the Person (student, client, child, follower, etc.) starts to organize one’s activity in accord with the conceptual system.

9. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH A Personal development in a therapeutic subculture might be characterized by special “social situation of development”( Vygotsky L.S.): 1.A leading activity – (co)experiencing and comprehention of one’s living situation; 2.A type of contact-interaction-dialogue with a Significant Other 3.New psychological and personal formations

10. An illustration: The Person-Centered Approach and personal development in it A Person-Centered Approach as a psychological practice originally developed by Carl Rogers is widely used all over the world. A development of a Person in a process of the Client- Centered Therapy or Student–Centered Education, or Practicing the approach may be a proper model for understanding a development of a Person in cultural context in general. The Person-Centered Approach steps far beyond psychotherapeutic site in our days, so it might be viewed as a (sub)cultural trend, tending to influence the general culture.

11. An illustration: The Person-Centered Approach and personal development in it Leading activity – a deep comprehension of personal experience and organizing one’s life on this basis Type of contact-interaction with a significant Other – empathetic, sincere(authentic, congruent), with unconditional positive regard to each other. Psychological and personal neo-formations (cont.)

12. An illustration: The Person-Centered Approach and personal development in it Neo-formations (Kolpachnikov V.V., 2004-2011) Respondents report unique individual changes. Yet: 100% of respondents report a substantial growth of competence in relationships. 97% of respondents report deeper and better understanding of themselves (“coming to oneself”), people around and deeper comprehension of life. They report growth of self-regard and regard to others. A striking result is a report of accepting responsibility (by 71 % of respondents) for one’s actual experience and for one’s life in general. Also people say about positive changes in their worldview (65% of respondents).

13. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF SUBCULTURE OF THE PERSON-CENTERED APPROACH The results may be viewed as enacting of the Person-Centered culture in personal life of people, who acquired the approach in their life. And it might be a model of cultural development of a person in a definite cultural context.

14. THANK YOU! Veniamin Kolpachnikov venyak@gmail.com