Robert’s Personal Timeline

Entry for 22 Feb -2 March 2013:

[Note: Constructed for life history biography project being carried out by Barbara Hannigan, Trinity College Dublin.]

1927-1950: Parents both from broken families: mother’s by divorce, father’s by parental suicide

Chapter 1: California (First Saturn Return)

1950: Born, Stanford University, California

1950 – 1968: Childhood, Lodi, California

• Responsible oldest of 6 children: “family therapist” role, consulted by mother for advice on my siblings and myself

• Mother and grandmother Jung enthusiasts; Grandmother’s interest in parapsychology

• Parents involved in Christian healing/charismatic movement; later, father becomes a shaman

1967 (age 17): Turning point 1: Read Karen Horney, decided to become psychotherapist

1968 – 1972: University of California, Santa Cruz (Psychology)

1972 – 1978: University of California, Los Angeles (Clinical Psychology)

1973 (age 23): Married Diane Pearson

1975 (age 25): Realised that I could, with experience, become a competent therapist

1976 (age 26): Turning point 2: Attended first SPR meeting, met Les Greenberg & Laura Rice

Chapter 2: Toledo, Ohio (Second Saturn Return):

1978 - 1984: First job: moved to Toledo, Ohio: teaching research and psychotherapy; significant events research

1982 (age 31): First son, Brendan, born

1983 (age 33): Marital crisis: Realised that people are more important than work

1985 (age 35): Turning point 3: On sabbatical in Sheffield UK, decided to give up interpreting clients; after return to Toledo, began working with Les Greenberg and Laura Rice to develop what eventually became EFT

1985 – 1991: Toledo Experiential Therapy of Depression Project

1987 (age 37): Second son, Kenneth, born

1991 – 1992: Sabbatical in Toronto, Canada: Finish Facilitating Emotional Change; take part in PE-EFT training program run by Greenberg and Rice; beginning of humanistic-experiential psychotherapy meta-analysis project

1992 – 1999: Toledo Crime-related PTSD project; Director of Clinical Training, U of Toledo; Center for the Study of Experiential Psychotherapy protocol starts

2000- 2006: “Time of Turning”: “Every day is a gift”, Learning Emotion-Focused Therapy; conflicts at work

Chapter 3: Scotland (Third Saturn Return):

2006 (age 56): Turning point 4: Year of many changes: Father dies, youngest son leaves home, move to Scotland; new job, begin running EFT training in Scotland.

• High point of my life to date: co-officiating at oldest son’s Shinto/Christian/animist wedding

2006 – present: Scotland: University of Strathclyde; Strathclyde Social Anxiety Project; ongoing EFT training established in Scotland, followed by Netherlands and Belgium

• 2008 (age 58): Year of Awards: Carl Rodgers Award for Contributions to Humanistic Psychology; Society for Psychotherapy Research Distinguished Career Award

• 2010 (age 60): Prostate cancer: focused on letting go, identifying what is important (ie, doing the most good with the time I have left in my life)

• 2012 (age 62): Stayed with Mother during her process of dying from brain cancer