Brian Thorne was born in 1937, the only child of a butcher's assistant in Bristol. From 1974 until his semi-retirement in 1997 he was Director of Counselling at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, where he continues as director of the Centre for Counselling Studies. He co-founded the Norwich Centre, committed to the person-centred approach to therapy of Carl Rogers, and wrote a study of Rogers' life and work. He also holds appointments in Paris and Vienna. A member of the Church of England, he has offered mediation and group facilitation to the church in conflict situations. He has recently been appointed to Lay Chairman of the Bishop's Council in the Diocese of Norwich.
"Good Friday 1946. I was nine.... I'm not entirely sure what was going on inside me, but what I do know is that I was completely overwhelmed, and I ran home. I just ran. Went up to my bedroom, and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. I don't know for how long. All I know is that from that day onwards I knew that I was infinitely loved."
"I don't know what I would do if I didn't have access to the Eucharist for any length of time. It enables me to feel that closeness to God, a kind of internalisation of God, a taking of the divine into me, that is absolutely critical. The other thing is the attempt to see in other people that which is of Christ."