Person-centred counselling deals therapy in which client is the ultimate focus of attention of his or her own therapy. Person-centred therapy aims at creating a relationship with their clients through which the clients are able develop their self-awareness. Person- Centred counsellors deal with the present, i.e. the here and now. In person centred approach, the therapeutic relationship is of immense importance and is based on mutuality and equality.
“It is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried.’ (Rogers, 2004, p11).
The most important concept of person centred counselling is ‘actualizing tendency’. It is based on the notion that individuals are driven by
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He is full autonomous and free to steer the wheel in any direction he wishes. The role of the therapist is to create a psychological environment in which the client is able to believe in himself as being absolutely fit and sufficient to take charge of his life decisions. The role of therapist in being non-directive can be summed up by a question identified by Rogers, “Am I really with this person at this moment”
Mearns and Thorne (1998) investigates the foundations of the person centred and states that focusing on past experiences is damaging for the present self-concept. This will have a domino effect as this self-concept will not let individuals reach their full potential and therefore, they will fail in becoming fully functioning persons. Furthermore, the need for positive self-regard, according to Rogers, developed in early childhood and directly influenced one’s self worth.
‘One way of assisting the individual to move toward openness to experience is through a relationship in which he is prized as a separate person, in which the experiencing going on within him is empathically understood and valued, and in which he is given the freedom to experience his own feelings and those of others without being threatened in doing so.’ (Rogers, ‘The Valuing Process in the Mature Person’,
One of key concepts of person centred therapy is the belief that the client has the ability to become aware of their own problems and has the inherent means to resolve them. In this sense,
I believe that Carl Rogers Person-Centred counselling is reliable. It developed the method of enhancing the relationship formed between a counsellor or therapist and client. Rogers
Person centred therapists believe that people are driven by two distinct needs. The first is self-actualisation (the ability to be the best we can be), the second is the need to be loved and valued.
Compare and contrast person centered and cognitive behavioural approaches understanding and making use of the counseling relationship
us. Rogers puts forward the view that the client held in the therapeutic relationship, when given the
There are three important aspects to the therapist’s approach; congruence, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding. These are three core conditions that facilitate the actualization and growth. These conditions relate to the shared journey in which therapists and clients reveal their humanness and participate in a growth experience together.Its only
therapist 's role is to listen, teach, and encourage, while the client 's roles is to express concerns,
How does Person-centred counselling, influence the understanding of the development of concept of self? (245 words)
In the very early years of the person-centred approach, the direction and goals of the therapy were very much determined by the client, with the therapist’s role being to assist the client in clarifying their feelings. This approach of non-directive therapy was associated with a greater self-exploration, increased understanding, and improved self-concept. Further development of person centred therapy has seen a shift in concentration toward the core conditions assumed to be both necessary and sufficient for successful therapy (Cox, Bachkirova & Clutterbuck, 2010)
In the 1940s Carl Rogers was well on his way to revolutionizing the state of traditional, directive psychotherapy and pioneering what would soon become the person-centered approach. Although Rogers strayed from the psychological mainstream’s view that therapists drive their clients recovery through such mediums as advice, direction, teaching and interpretation he still believed that the therapist’s role was crucial, and it was their attributes that paved the way to increased awareness and self-directed change.
Person-centred therapy came about through Roger’s theory on human personality. He argued that human experiences were valuable whether they were positive or negative so long as they maintained their self actualising tendency. Through one’s experiences and interactions with others Roger believed that a self-concept/regard was developed. Carl Rogers believed that a truly therapeutic relationship between client and counsellor depends on the existence, of three core conditions. The core conditions are important because they represent the key concepts and principles of person-centred therapy. These core conditions are referred to as congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy. Congruence is when the therapist has the ability to be real and honest with the client. This also means that the therapist has to be aware of their own feelings by owning up to them and not hiding behind a professional role. For example, a therapist may say ‘I understand where you are coming from’’ to the client. However the therapist has expressed a confused facial expression while saying this. The clients can be become aware of this and may feel uncomfortable in expressing their feelings, which might impact their trust and openness towards the therapist. Therefore the major role of the therapist is to acknowledge their body language and what they say and if confusion happens the therapist needs to be able to
Mearns, Dave (1980) The Person-Centred Approach to Therapy (Paper presented at the Scottish Association for Counselling, 31st May, 1980. For private distribution) [Online] Available at:
Carl Rogers (1902-87) was the founder of the client-centred or person-centred approach to counselling and therapy. (McLeod 2001)
As a humanistic counselling approach, person-centred therapy emphasises the potential for self-knowledge and personal growth (Corey, 2009). It views the deviation from one’s inherent goodness as a source of psychological problems, in turn aiming to increase one’s self-awareness to help them direct their life in more satisfying ways (Cooper, 2003). With the person-centred approach being more an attitude than a set of definitive techniques, a better understanding of its process is formed through connecting theory and practice. As such, this case study aims to apply the person-centred approach to a fictional client based around Lester Burnham from American Beauty (Cohen, Jinks & Mendes, 1999). Initially, an introduction to the client will be presented, followed by the assumptions, assessment, and goals formed when working with him from a person-centred perspective. Several hypothetical helping sessions will then be presented.
Often social workers are faced with having to choose from a wide variety of practice approaches, models, and methods when working with clients. Understanding which approach is appropriate to use with your client is imperative. “Paying equal attention to people and their environments is a critical aspect when choosing the appropriate approach, as each client and situation is unique” (Gitterman & Heller, 2011). For this critical analysis of the therapeutic approach known as Person-Centered Therapy, I will be outlining the ‘core conditions’, which guide the counselors approach. The reason I chose to highlight this