Harlene Anderson is an influential author, dynamic organizer, and sought-after “consultant to the consultants.” Anderson is the co-founder of collaborative-dialogic practice, a human-centric approach to mental health therapy that has been productively expanded into business, education, research, and community development as a means of understanding and influencing social and political change. The collaborative-dialogic approach has proven successful in empowering individuals and organizations to solve problems, discover new possibilities, increase competence, and achieve sustainable outcomes.

Harlene is the co-founder of collaborative-dialogic practice. Anderson has served as an active steward of the collaborative-dialogic approach from 1980 to today, authoring several books and guiding collaborative-dialogic training organizations, conferences, and journals. Anderson earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the Union Institute & University and her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Houston. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counsellor with supervisor designations in both licensures. Her contributions to theory and practice are demonstrated by numerous awards including the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Marriage and Family Therapy, and the American Academy of Family Therapy Award for Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Theory and Practice.

She can be contacted at harleneanderson@earthlink.net and harleneanderson.org.