My name is Vasileios Skandalis, and I am a person-centered psychotherapist and researcher based in Belgium. In both my practice and my thinking, I try to remain deeply rooted in the person-centered tradition, while also staying open to the social, political, and cultural realities that shape people’s lives. My commitment is to a Person-Centered Approach that is inclusive, intersectional, affirmative, and responsive to the wider contexts in which people live, struggle, and grow. Between 2022 and 2025, I served as an elected board member of the Belgian French-Speaking Association for Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapy (AFPC). That experience deepened my appreciation for shared responsibility, collaboration, and the ongoing work of sustaining a professional community. It also strengthened my wish to contribute more actively to the international development of the person-centered and experiential field. What draws me to this candidacy is not only the possibility of contributing, but also the opportunity to be in dialogue with others across a global network. I would value the chance to learn from colleagues coming from different cultures and contexts, and to encounter different perspectives, sensibilities, and lived expressions of the person-centered approach. For me, this kind of exchange is not only enriching, it is part of how our field stays alive, relevant, and open. If elected, I would hope to contribute to strengthening research networks, fostering stronger and more genuine links between chapters, supporting dialogue across our different communities, and building bridges between research, practice, publication, and community life. At the same time, I would enter this role with a genuine openness to receive as well as to offer, to be shaped by what others bring, and to let this shared work broaden and deepen my own understanding of our field. At a time when humanism, dialogue, and genuine encounter can so easily be lost, I believe our community has an important role to play. I would be deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve that vision and to contribute, together with all of you, to a person-centered field that remains deeply human, increasingly relevant, and open to the future.
