Jan Hawkins is a highly experienced and accredited freelance psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer.
Jan and her company, The Foundation for the Developing Person, offer a number of services to individuals, couples and organisations:
Consultancy for Film Companies
Consults with Film companies to support those making films and those who are the subjects of films. Has worked on documentaries as well as docu drama and drama films. Areas of particular experience: childhood trauma/abuse; vicarious trauma (especially important in those making films involving traumatic material); end of life and bereavement; learning disabilities; The Autistic Spectrum; mental illness; suicide and psychopathy. See publications below. Works face to face, on Zoom and on phone, as well as travelling when necessary.
About Jan
Jan Hawkins is a Person-Centred therapist, supervisor, group facilitator and trainer. Informed by trainings in psychodynamic, CBT, SFT, and other therapeutic traditions, prior to arriving home in the Person-Centred Approach, she is passionately committed to providing relationships in which clients, supervisees and groups are able to change and grow in self directed, yet accompanied, ways.
Jan ran groups for Survivors of childhood abuse during the early nineties, controversially offering groups with women and men together, and for those who had experienced any type of abuse. Many students and supervisees reported their difficulties in locating good, practical and developmental training for practitioners focussing on the issues raised by a history of childhood abuse. In response to this expressed need in 1994 Jan created, and co-facilitated, a Diploma course in Counselling Survivors of Childhood Abuse, the first initiative of its kind in Europe. Since then, through FDP, Jan has continued to run post counselling training courses and study days with a conviction that experiential learning is imperative for the continued development and deepening of the core attitudinal qualities of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard, which are crucial to Person-Centred and other relationship focussed therapies. She has been particularly keen to encourage therapists to extend their practice to people with learning disabilities, many of whom suffer silently from their legacies of childhood abuse.
A background in lecturing in psychology and special needs, and her experiences over 30+ years since working with her first client in therapy, Jan feels blessed to have worked in a variety of settings. With a core of therapy and supervision, she also consults with filmmakers, and supports palliative care teams in their work. Jan feels she does one thing, but does it in a variety of ways!
Photo by Paul Tucker Photography
Thought for a while
“When I say that I enjoy hearing someone, I mean, of course, hearing deeply… Sometimes too, in a message which is superficially not very important, I hear a deep human cry that lies buried and unknown far below the surface of the person”
Carl Rogers
Study Days Autumn 2026 – on ZOOM!
Before the pandemic, all study days were small groups in person, days when practitioners could engage with the topic and also share lunch and breaks together, something I miss in the Zoom days. On a practical level, Zoom does allow people to participate from wider afield, and to minimise the costs in time and travel. Each study day costs £70, to include handouts, recommended reading and CPD Certificate of Attendance. Please know that if finances have continued to be affected by the cost-of-living crisis or the various viruses which continue to impact our lives, you are welcome to join any of the study days either on a trainee rate of £30 or free (assuming there is already a viable group).
Each day will consist of some input on the topic, experiential processing, and space to discuss practice issues relating to the theme. Each workshop will be from 10.00am until 4.00pm with a lunch break of 1 ¼ hours when online, to allow for Zoom rest. If you would like to attend, please send the attached slip.
Each day is facilitated by Jan Hawkins, a Person-Centred therapist, supervisor and trainer, having a passion for experiential, ongoing learning opportunities for practitioners. Jan has been teaching for over forty years and a therapist for over 35 years.
Suicidal Ideation
Saturday, 12th September 2026
This day will provide the opportunity for counsellors and others in the helping professions to explore the sensitive issue of the potential for suicide in clients with whom they are working. The issue of ‘chronic suicide’ sometimes known as ‘indirect suicide’ will also be explored. Organisational policies often mean that any discussion of suicidal ideation leads to disclosure and breach of confidentiality of the client/counsellor relationship. Those in private practice must develop their own policy in regard to if and at what point, they may need to disclose to a GP that their client is at risk of suicide. This study day will allow for exploration of each participant’s feelings and experiences with the aim of developing deeper confidence in their own attitudes and beliefs in relation to suicidal ideation.
Person-centred therapy and the Autistic Spectrum
Friday, 9th October 2026
The autistic spectrum is a broad umbrella incorporating such terms as ‘Asperger’s Syndrome’, ‘Autism’, ‘High Functioning Autism’ and ‘Autistic spectrum disorder’. Many children and adults who have diagnoses within the spectrum are able to attend mainstream schools, colleges and workplaces, yet they can experience a great deal of confusion and anxiety in any social setting. This study day will focus on autistic thinking styles and how these impact on everyday living and in particular on the therapy relationship. Time will be given to input/discussion, experiential processing and discussion of case work where desirable by participants. Jan has been working with adolescents and adults with diagnoses on the autism spectrum in different environments, for over 40 years and has two adult sons, each of whom are individuals on the autistic spectrum. She also gives training on related issues like learning disabilities, taking her understanding of the inner worlds of her clients to residential care workers, support workers, social workers, teachers and counsellors.
The Healing Power of Story: The Tale of the Ugly Duckling
Saturday 31st October 2026
The story of the Ugly Duckling has particular relevance to those who feel the outcast in their family of origin. For individuals who grew up sensing that there was something wrong – some mismatch between themselves and other members of the family – this story can bring hope. The experience of exile is central to this story, and is particularly useful in reflecting on the deeper issues affecting traumatised and displaced people. This day is appropriate for anyone who feels drawn to the story, whether because you identify with the experience of feeling different and outside the family, or you are working with clients who share their experiences of exile.
Exploring Jealousy in person-centred therapy
Friday 20th November 2026
Jealousy gets a lot of bad press. It can be seen and felt as something bad, nasty, shameful. It can lead to spiralling loss of control and increasing difficulties in relationships. A myriad of feelings can come to dominate and lead to behaviours which, far from bringing closer the connection and attachment the individual really needs, push away people. Jealousy can be at the root of suspicion, insecurity and mistrust. So, how might we, as person-centred therapists, welcome jealousy into the therapeutic space for exploration like any other feeling? What may lie beneath our own and our clients’ feelings of jealousy? This day will focus on exploring our own experiences of jealousy and how we may – as Rogers suggested – send a new telegram to our clients telling them it is safe to bring this issue to therapy now.
Chronic Sorrow
Saturday, 5th December 2026
Time bound grief models focus on a temporal sequence of shock, protest, despair, reorganisation, leading ultimately to acceptance. This can lead to the idea that acceptance is required for healthy resolution, and if acceptance does not occur, the pathologizing idea that a neurotic state exists. Many parents of children/adults with learning and/or physical disabilities are judged on whether or not they have ‘accepted’ the reality of their child’s disabilities. There are differences for parents and siblings, as well as the individuals themselves. The person is still there, and times of ‘acceptance’ may come and then go again. And each time the grief may feel as raw as it did first time round. This day will focus mainly on the impact of chronic sorrow as it relates to those who have loved ones with learning and/or physical disabilities, and those individuals themselves. We will also explore how chronic sorrow can affect any of us, depending on the kind of loss we have experienced, through chronic illness, divorce, loss of a child and much more.
OnlineEvents Webinars to purchase and/or view:
Saturday 10am
Anxiety and Winnie the Pooh and the Inner Landscape
Most of us recognise different aspects of our beings. Some therapeutic traditions refer to ‘plural selves’, multiplicity, Internal Family Systems – more recent modalities refer to ‘parts work’ and in the Person-Centred world to ‘configurations of self’. Each are describing those roles we play where our behaviours and feelings can be different. The person we are in our working lives can feel and behave very differently from the person we are within our families. This workshop will invite participants to explore those inner dimensions in a fun way.
There is a potency for healing available in fairy tales, myths and stories. Certain stories grip us, whilst others leave us cold. The story of Winnie the Pooh can be rediscovered in many ways, one of which is reflecting on our own inner landscapes, and aspects of ourselves. This day will allow personal reflection on inner states and characters as they relate to Christopher Robin and friends. Whether you have read the books before, or never even heard of Winnie the Pooh (impossible!!) – This is a day for a light hearted exploration with potential treasures to be found. A day for personal reflection and fun! Who knows where it might take us?! The day will take place at Debden House, (address above)with a beautiful garden, and 50 acres of woodland outside. The perfect setting to meet Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
This workshop will finish at 4.00pm with half an hour break for refreshments. Weather permitting, those who have chosen group or individual walks before dinner will take those, whilst those who have chosen an encounter opportunity will also choose whether that will be inside or outside and for a space of up to two hours pre dinner.
After dinner space for socializing, rest and appreciating the outdoors.
Sunday 10am
Anxiety and Dissociation: Creative Survival
Where there is chronic abuse in childhood, many learn to survive by dissociating from the experience. This may involve leaving the body, numbing out, splitting off, depersonalising and/or derealising. This day will focus on what dissociation is, how it acts as a somewhat protective strategy, and how we may empower individuals who may be experiencing dissociation now. Having explored our own configurations of self with Winnie the Pooh, we will have seen dissociation as part of human experience, and this will help in understanding when trauma has taken people into deeper realms of dissociative experiencing. Whereas Saturday was a personal development day, today brings us to a professional focus where we seek to deepen our ability to come alongside those who have survived trauma by developing entrenched ways of being in the world which were creative survival strategies. Recognising and supporting our clients who live with dissociative experiencing and/or Dissociative Identity Experience (I prefer this term to DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder) requires deepening of our core attitudinal qualities, by learning more about these complex survival skills.
We finish the day at 4.00pm, refreshments are served and we vacate Debden House by 5.00pm
Heartwood is a wonderful Person-Centred charity headed up by Chip Ponsford and Rab Erskine working therapeutically in nature – do check out their website. Heart Wood offers residential CPD training courses in the Heart Wood approach, and facilitated wellbeing days for staff teams. To find out more about their programme, please contact Emma at admin@heartwoodcharity.org or call 01434 607726.
Publications
Collateral Damage: Casualties of Alcohol Misuse: An Anthology
Paperback – 17 Jan. 2020
This anthology contains chapters written by individuals who have been affected by loving/caring about someone close, whose use of alcohol has impacted on the relationship. There is so much literature focusing on the experience of alcohol addiction or dependency in the medical and professional helper material, but scant attention given to those who live with and/or are affected by the person whose drinking is causing harm. Those who have given their time to this project have done so using their own voices. This gives the collection a variety of styles which provides the reader with a wide set of experiences. The editor is eager to encourage writing as a therapeutic option when processing painful experiences, especially where the individuals are unable – due to their loved one’s alcohol misuse – to have the open dialogue which might help them. Sadly in all the cases presented herein, the contributors are left to manage the effects of another person’s departure into a different world, a person they have loved and cared for. For those who love someone who misuses alcohol, this book will offer company. The contributors have shared experiences they have previously found impossible to talk about. Readers may find themselves in these stories, and as a result, feel less lonely.
Listening to their Voices: The Person-Centred Approach to Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Paperback – 17 Dec. 2017
This book includes verbatim interview contributions from individuals who have ASD, their parents, siblings, and some professionals. It is written by a therapist who works with all those groups, so that other chapters include examples of the lives and experiences of those with ASD. The purpose of the book is to introduce the how to of Person-Centred Planning, by introducing the Person-Centred Approach to anybody supporting people with ASD. Readers would include support workers, social workers, counsellors/therapists, medical practitioners, volunteers, and any other practitioners aiming to support people with ASD to reach their best potential in life.
Voices of the Voiceless: Person-Centred Approaches for People with Learning Difficulties
Paperback – 1 Jan. 2002
“Voices of the Voiceless” is an inspiring, passionate and comprehensive exploration that offers hope and encouragement to counsellors and practitioners working with people living with learning difficulties. Although the effects of learning difficulties and the effects of society’s treatment of people with learning difficulties are lifelong and often severe, counselling and healing are possible. The author argues that even those people who have the most severe learning disabilities can benefit from counselling, and not simply from behaviour management or medication to manage and control them. Jan Hawkins integrates 15 years’ experience of counselling and her 25 years’ experience as a mother of a person with learning difficulties. The book contains many moving accounts of the healing process and detailed examples of interdisciplinary working and the power the Person-Centred Approach offers for those who are metaphorically and often literally voiceless.