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Ray De LagraveI first became acquainted with the Person Centered Approach during a course on Organizational Behavior in my MBA program at UCLA in the mid- ‘60’s. One of our textbooks - On Becoming a Person was my first exposure to Carl Rogers. I remember vividly how profoundly impacted I was by Rogers’ vision about the human condition, our potential for growth and unfoldment, and how we are defined by and are always in Process. It was an Ah-Ha! experience which led me to change my degree’s focus from Marketing to Behavioral Science. The teachings in that wonderful program introduced me to the world of Humanistic Psychology, to Maslow and the Existential psychologists. I was intrigued by the interactions I observed in T-groups as we participants related openly and directly frequently with one another in a manner that often brought emotions painfully to the service. Relating to others in this way made me aware of possibilities for honest communications that were different from anything I had ever experienced. I drew strongly upon these experiences in the following decades in my work as a corporate executive with the Coca-Cola Company in Latin America and as an international business consultant. Feeling ready for a change, I returned to graduate school to pursue doctoral level studies in Transpersonal Psychology. In one of my life’s significant “coincidences” , the first course I took was the La Jolla Program, with long-time CSP member Will Stillwell as my adviser. I had come full circle and was back to my roots in Humanistic psychology! My studies opened me to the clinical process in individual and group therapy, as well as to the profundities of Tibetan Buddhist Psychology. I left the program after three years - I had taken all the courses that were of interest to me, and was looking to apply what I had learned in my professional and personal life. In addition to developing leaders through my executive programs, I help develop leaders for the Latino Community in San Diego under a program called Transformational Leadership and Communication. This program, a Project of CSP, facilitates the learning of Latino parents as they practice the Person Centered Approach in an interactive workshop setting. A further description of the program, its results and participant feedback can be found under the Projects section of this website. In addition to English, I speak Spanish, Portuguese and French. I enjoy my family which consists of my wife, Carolyn, of 43 years, four grown children, all of whom are in the San Diego area, and four beautiful grandchildren . Bicycling, skiing and kayaking are exercise activities. I also enjoy taking my my black lab, Boo, for walks by the beach. Contact Ray |
