John Shlien

John M. Shlien 1918–2002 A student, colleague and friend of Carl Rogers at the University of Chicago from the late 1940s, John Shlien moved to Harvard University in 1967 as Professor of Education and Counseling Psychology. Although dedicated to ‘pure’ Client-Centered Therapy, his career was marked by interdisciplinary projects at Harvard including the Robert W. White School and the Clinical Psychology and Public Practice program. He published many influential papers and chapters on a wide variety of topics in psychology, counseling and psychotherapy over nearly 50 years. He once wrote: 'At this point, it might be said of me: He is a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where he served in every rank from instructor to full professor, suffering thwarted ambitions to be a jazz musician, a brain surgeon and a racing driver all the while. In 1968, invited to Harvard as Professor and Chair of a new program (of his own invention), an interdepartmental/cross faculty administrative nightmare (Medical School, Divinity School, Psychology and Social Relations, and the Graduate School of Education). Title: Clinical Psychology and Public Practice. Wonderful idea. Difficult to fulfill. At first succeeded, then failed, phased out after a dozen years, when I retired. What I love best: small children and big dogs'.