Dr. Harry J. Aponte - Revolutionizing Therapy by Embracing Human Emotional Struggles and Life Experiences
“You can go into therapy, but not with the idea that you're gonna have it all fixed.” - Harry J. Aponte
Elder wisdom is essential to the future of our work. That’s it, that’s the episode.
But Sarah’s guest deserves so much more hype than that; as do many of the folks who came before us in work and life. Harry J. Aponte, Ph.D., is a legend for many reasons. He’s an OG coalition-builder and advocate for culturally informed care, but is probably best known in professional psychology circles for developing The Person of the Therapist Training Model. Today Sarah gets to share Harry’s work, life, history and how it built the foundations for what we do today!
“I had to invent my own idea of what family therapy was since there was no one to teach me.” recalls Harry. He began his career with Sal Minuchin at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic in the 1950s-60s. The segregation, disinvestment, and calculated lack of community support, which Harry also experienced growing up in Black Harlem, sadly still exist. But his example teaches us that grassroots outreach is vital to transforming our world. “When families are disadvantaged, you really have to look at the community.” Harry says. His hyper-local focus fostered trust and informed his approach to communal care. “We started something that worked, and it had its roots in the community.”
Coalition-building without compassion doesn’t work. That’s one of the reasons The Person of the Therapist Training Model centers on the “radical” idea that a therapist’s personal life informs their professional outlook. Seems like a no-brainer to this Humanistic therapist, but that’s because of Harry’s work. Harry believes that our human experiences like loss, recovery, hardship, and healing almost always make us better therapists and can close the distance between therapist and client. “When you sit down with people, if you wanna know who they are, you have to be vulnerable yourself,” says Harry. “I have problems. You have problems. They have problems. If you're going to relate to their problems, you have to relate to them as a wounded healer yourself.” If you’ve ever worked with me, you know I start all my first sessions with a similar phrase, so it’s incredible to hear it from one of the pioneers!
I hope we can all grow to be as wise and consistently open as Harry remains!
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CWH022 - Anjuli Shah-Johnson - A Serious Child Becomes a Great Therapist
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic
GUEST CONTACT AND BIO
Harry J. Aponte, Ph.D., was born in the United States to Puerto Rican parents, he earned his Master's in Social Work from Fordham University in 1959. His career took a significant turn when he began working with Sal Minuchin at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, eventually becoming the Clinic's Director. He has delivered lectures across Europe, South America, Korea, and throughout the United States. Additionally, he is the author of several influential books and is currently in private practice. Early in his career, he developed a keen interest in leveraging therapists’ personal life experiences to connect with clients, understand their issues, and apply these insights in therapeutic work. This approach, known as Person of the Therapist Training, has become a cornerstone of his professional philosophy.
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