Pre-Conference
6-8 July 2026
at the TH Köln
Ubierring 48
50678 Köln
At the Pre-Conference, we run ourselves warm. Participants can expect a good and inspiring time.
You can choose to gain experiences in a classical Encounter Group or in two different Workshops from the World of PCE.
The preliminary schedule at a glance
William R. Miller, Ph.D.
Pre-Conference - Workshop on MI
Introductory experiential workshop for practitioners on the person-centered clinical method of motivational interviewing for evoking and strengthening clients’ own motivations for change and growth.
Robert Elliott, Ph.D.
Pre-Conference - Workshop on EFT
Overviews of EFT generally emphasize differences between EFT and PCT. This hands-on workshop takes the opposite approach of focusing on common elements, offering a PCT-friendly introduction to EFT.
Pre-Conference - Encounter Group
To enter an encounter group is to enter the unknown: to meet oneself and others as we are, in this moment. It is an invitation to openness, to sharing experiences and emotions as they arise, and to allow something new to unfold in the space between us. Such encounters can be rich, challenging, and unpredictable, offering opportunities for growth, learning, and deeper understanding of ourselves and others. The encounter group is an open space for all participants. There is no agenda, preplanned content, or assumed outcome — themes and directions emerge organically. We do not know what we will do or how we will be; this is for us to create together.
There are no designated facilitators. All members may be facilitative at any point, and no one holds more power or responsibility than others do by assigned roles. The “encounter group preparation committee” will open each meeting, welcome everyone, then participate equally alongside all.
We invite participants to:
· Commit to being present and engaged within our differences
· Risk expressing emotions as they arise
· Remain open and attempt to understand others’ responses
· Be as congruent as possible, expressing what is alive in the moment, being ourselves rather than talking about ourselves or others.
To encounter is to express oneself openly, honestly, and clearly while being open to experience the other. These groups offer the chance to explore power, identity, and difference, including differences of language, within an environment free of structural hierarchy. Encounter groups are an opportunity to practice being present to oneself and others whilst trying to empathically understand and value our interconnectedness.
Encounter groups are unpredictable and may be exciting, risky, and powerful experiences. We warmly welcome everyone to join in this opportunity to meet oneself and others — and to discover what can emerge from our shared human diversity.
The „Technische Hochschule Köln“ – TH Köln for short – sees itself as a university for technology, art and science. With its disciplinary and cultural diversity and openness, it shapes social innovations and makes significant contributions to solving social challenges. They say, they form a community of teachers and students and see ourselves as a learning organization that breaks new ground. TH Köln is one of the pioneers in Germany in the development and design of new university didactic concepts.
We are happy to be guests in the TH halls, where some of our appreciated PCE colleagues work and present the PCE within Bachelor and Master studies of Social Work, Psychology and Gender & Queer studies since decades.
