Les Greenberg

Les Greenberg, a distinguished Canadian psychologist, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in nineteen forty-five. He is renowned as one of the originators and primary developers of emotion-focused therapy, a transformative approach for individuals and couples. Currently, he serves as a professor emeritus of psychology at York University in Toronto and is the director of the Emotion-Focused Therapy Clinic in the same city.

Greenberg's academic journey began with a background in engineering before he transitioned to psychology, earning his Ph.D. from York University in nineteen seventy-five. Under the mentorship of Laura North Rice, who had studied with Carl Rogers, he embarked on psychotherapy process research, focusing on mathematically modeling therapist-client interactions. His early career was also shaped by the neo-Piagetian constructivist model of mind proposed by Juan Pascual-Leone.

His first academic role was at the University of British Columbia in counseling psychology, complemented by an externship at the Mental Research Institute in California in nineteen eighty-one. Initially trained in client-centered therapy, Greenberg later embraced Gestalt therapy and explored various other therapeutic approaches, including systemic-interactional, psychodynamic, and cognitive therapy. He returned to York University in nineteen eighty-six, solidifying his influence in the field.

Throughout his career, Greenberg has authored numerous articles and co-authored significant texts on emotion-focused psychotherapy. He is a founding member of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration and has held the presidency of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, which honored him with the Distinguished Research Career Award in two thousand four. His contributions have also been recognized by the Canadian Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association, which awarded him for his distinguished professional contributions to applied research and the Carl Rogers Award.