Person Centered Theory

Human beings are seen has having capacity to strive for fulfilment and growth. Rogers referred this capacity as the ‘ideal self’. Enabling a person to move in the direction of their self defined ideals is major aim of the person centred therapy. Human beings are viewed as fully functioning persons who are open to experience and able to live existentially, trusting in own organism, expresses feelings freely, acts independently, are creative and lives a richer life which involve a process and a direction, and not a destination (Rogers, 1961, p.186).Therapy can develop and psychologically change those who do not have an optimal childhood in order restore the organismic valuing process (Rogers, 1959).This idea portrays an importance strand contrast to psychoanalysis whose orientation of their theory as reflected by Freud was towards understanding and explaining pathology or illness.

Most people face self esteem problems at different levels. At some point in life people face this problem without realizing it. In the essay The Trouble with Self-Esteem written by Lauren Slater starts of by demonstrating a test. Self esteem test that determines whether you have a high self-esteem or low self-esteem. The question to be answered however is; what is the value and meaning of self-esteem? The trouble with self-esteem is that not everyone approaches it properly, taking a test or doing research based of a certain group of people is not the way to do so.

Self-concept it is the collection of experiences and beliefs about one self, and how these experiences, beliefs interact to form a picture according to individual’s perspective what kind of a person an individual is. This includes physical and mental

A person with a strong sense of self esteem will have a more positive outlook on life and will be strong enough to handle difficult situations through life.

Rogers like Maslow used the ideas of Albert Einstein when it came to creating his theory of self actualization. In his belief a person who has reached self actualization is very centered and feels at ease in social and non social situations alike. In his thoughts the road to fulfillment was just as important as actually becoming fulfilled, and that each of these was define by the experiences they had. Through his use of patients who were already seeking therapy, he was able to concentrate more on the functioning of the individual rather than the dysfunction of the individual itself. Unconditional positive regard is something that was coined by Rogers to describe support or love that is given from one person to another with no strings attached so to speak. He focused this belief on the love between a parent and a child by believing that the correction of a child’s behavior does not have to come at the cost of a parents love.

Unconditional Positive Regard is a theory by Carl Rogers applicable both for psychotherapy and in interpersonal relations. It recognizes a universal need for positive regard by others to all persons under various situations. It requires that all individuals as counselors should respect, accept and appreciate others without judgments. It is somehow different from unconditional love since it doesn’t require care for or liking. It only calls for acceptance of individuals whether you are fond of them or not. Unconditional positive regard shouldn’t be taken to mean being nice, friendly, or delightful with other people. Unconditional positive regard is more of a feeling towards others. As such, it ensures that a therapist has a genuinely deep caring for a client regardless as to whether He/ She approves or not, the actions of his clients. It is an attitude of accepting individuals as they are.

“Rogers is seen by many as one of the foundational thinkers in the development of human psychology,

Another strong influence of Rogers' model was Maslow's theory of self- actualisation. Maslow (1943) believed people are motivated to achieve certain needs that are not related to rewards. He developed a theory that people strive to ‘self-actualise’, to become the best they can be.

Carl R. Rogers constructed the person-centered theory by his influences of Elizabeth Davis and Frederick Allen who studied under Jessie Taft as well as Otto Rank and John Dewey (Patterson, 2007; Walsh, 2010). Influenced by Jessie Taft, Rogers adopted an optimistic view of people, individuals are capable of recreating themselves and are not the end products of their past (Patterson, 2007; Walsh, 2010). Otto Rank advocated that treatment of a client be centered around that client and that therapist be more emotionally involved within the process. Third Rogers was influenced by John Dewey who helped him understand and develop his position that self-actualized people live in harmony rather then conflict

Rogers had a very positive view on humanity and believed that if a normal, self-aware person follows their own internal thoughts and feelings, they would come to the correct conclusions which would not only satisfy themselves, but others

Carl Rogers’s belief was that the clients have the ability to see their own growth potential and can get there with only guidance from a therapist (Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy), 2015). His thought was if therapist helped clients with empathy

Virginia Satir defines self esteem as: a culmination of identity development within a nurturing and validating enviorment. She believed that feelings of worth can only flourish in an atmosphare where the individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open and rules are flexible. This she would define as the kind of atmosphare that is found in a nurturing family.

If one has poor self-concept and sees oneself as unworthy then they will present themselves this way, which will result in a negative response from people. If one feels good about oneself, they will present themselves as worthy, which will result in a more positive response from people. The perceptions, beliefs and attitudes that steam from self-concept, will affect one's social surroundings. One will either come out of a situation with a positive or negative concept of these surroundings. Poor communication can cause one to have a poor perception of oneself. One's emotional state, dislikes, likes values and body image are affected by the opinions of others and can render one to have an inferior and insecure self-concept.

     The emotional causes of low self-esteem are due to the child having insecurities about their appearance and ability. Low self-esteem is associated with emotions by many factors. A child who is abused may suffer from low self-esteem. That child may suffer physical abuse or mental abuse, either way, this is a cause of low self-esteem.

Importantly, the fully functioning person is completely congruent and integrated. Such a person, Rogers believes, is able to embrace empirical living. By this he means they are able to live fully in the here and now with personal inner freedom, with all its accompanying exciting, creative, but also challenging, aspects. “Such a person experiences in the present, with immediacy. He is able to live in his feelings and reactions of the moment. He is not bound by the structure of his past learnings, but these are a present resource for him insofar as they relate to