At the First World Conference on Psychotherapy (WCP) in July 1996 the PCA was not as well represented as it could have been.

This lead to discussions in an informal meeting of 30 person-centered theoreticians and practicioners at the meeting at Bad Hall** in Austria, organized by the Austrian PCA about the lack of international communication, connection and representation.

During this meeting a letter was drawn up, signed and afterwards sent to several client-/person-centered and experiential associations and persons all over the world and to internet networks. People were asked to spread the information and to send reactions before April 1997. The letter was published in many national journals and different languages. It stated the intention to found an international organization on the occasion of the International Conference in Lisbon in July 1997. The topic was announced again as part of the program of the conference to all people who had registered for the IVth ICCCEP in Lisbon. A modified version of the letter was presented as provisional statutes to the participants of the Lisbon Conference.

In Lisbon there were three plenary sessions where the topic was discussed intensely and a decision was made to form a core group (Provisional Executive Board) of a few people who would work out a proposal of detailed constitutions and regulations which could then be presented at the Vth Conference in Chicago in the year 2000. There was a Working Group of 17 members who would look at possibilities for a journal and other things that would come up. (Representatives of as many continents as possible would be more than welcome. People were also asked to propose persons who were not present.) As nobody has the money to go traveling around the world it was decided to work through e-mail, faxes and telephone. Finally there was a voting on the foundation, the Statutes, the financial contributions and the Working Group. Among the approximately one hundred people there were only two votes against the foundation and no votes against in the other decisions. So the World Association was officially founded on July 8th, 1997.

During its working period the Provisional Executive Board was working on a newsletter for the members, the preparations for the ICCCEP Chicago 2000, a proposal for an international journal and the application for membership in the World Council for Psychotherapy (WCP).***

A network was set up and everyone could send his proposals and opinions via the internet.

* The first version of these lines was originally written by Elisabeth Zinschitz in an e-mail sent to the CCT/PCA list server.
** Has nothing to do with "bad" and "hall", but is the name of a small town and health resort in Upper Austria, close to Gmunden, whose name means "Salty Baths".

***For further information on the WCP and it's world conference in Psycotherapy visit their homepage.

To read the abstracts of some person-centered contributions to the 2nd World Congress 1999 click here.