Unconditional Positive Respect

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

Therapists using one or other of the approaches would approach the session with completely different perspectives. A Rogerian therapist would approach the session with the assumption that the client is the one in charge since Daniel knows the situation and characteristics that drive him better than he, the therapist, does. In other words, Rogers specified that the client, being in control of his own destiny, could engender his own solutions provided that the client was helped to do so in an environment that was non-judgmental, accepting, emphatic, and presented other skills, such as active listening, that would enable the client to reach his goals. In Roger's schema that was distinct to previous counseling orientations, it was not the counselor who directed, but the client.

Having unconditional positive regard from the beginning will display to the client there is no hidden agenda and that the counsellor is non-judgmental, this will support the client to develop the working relationship and show the client they are valued and wanted, they will start to relax to open up freely and loosen up their attitude towards the session.

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

cognitive approach. Rogers used a humanistic person centred approach to therapy and I will look at

Person Centered Therapy was established by Carl Rogers, a noted psychologist in the 1940s. This style of therapy deviated from the customary model of the therapist as professional and moved rather toward a nondirective sensitive method that empowers and encourages the client in the therapeutic fashion. The concept is Humanistic in nature which affirms the client’s anatomy, psyche, and soul. It provides clients the freedom to achieve self- realization. Cognitive Behavior Therapy understands personal functioning to be the result of continuous reciprocal interaction between behavior and its social conditions. Therapist used their own life experiences to developed theories that can be conformed to help others. Integrating theories has proven

We learn to view ourselves as others view us, ignoring our inner experience whatever we feel it is in conflict with the values of those significant others on whom we depend. Roger’s term for this was locus of evaluation. By this, he meant the tendency of some people to rely on the evaluations of others for their feelings of acceptance and self esteem (Mearns & Thorne, 2007). Unconditional positive regard defined as being non-judgmental, accepting, and respectful toward the client (Mearns & Thorne, 2007).

Is Empathy a prerequisite for a good Therapeutic relationship? If so, what is the optimal degree of Empathy required for a positive Therapeutic outcome? In the recent years, much emphasis is placed on understanding what "ingredients" in Therapeutic relationship contribute to a positive outcome. Many researchers have attempted to separate essential aspects of the Therapeutic relationship. Rogers (1957) quoted three essential aspects that were vital to attain a "psychological climate" in where a client could reorganize himself. These aspects were characterized as genuineness in the relationship, acceptance of the client (warmth), and accurate empathic understanding of the clients’ phenomenal world. Findings of previous studies shows that these three aspects are separate and can be measured independently (Bergin, 1967; Truax, Wargo, Frank, Imbe, Battle, Hoehn-Saric, & Stone 1966).

These correct conditions which are required within person centred therapy in order that the client can achieve self actualisation and personality change were outlined by Carl Rogers and he believed that if this 6 conditions were met, it would facilitate change within the client: Two persons are in psychological contact- both client and counsellor are present physically and psychologically. The client is in a state of incongruence, (which will be discussed in more detail) the communication of the counsellor’s empathetic understanding and unconditional positive regard is met at a minimal level. The last condition mentioned involves 3 other conditions, which are essential attitudes and qualities necessary for the counsellor to posses for successful therapy; empathic understanding, unconditional positive regard and congruence. (Rogers C, 1957).

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

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.

Zachary Henning conducted a case study to determine the need for developing empathy in our modern day global community. Henning (2013) had in mind two goals; first to allow students to develop and maintain relationships, and second to initiate the thought process necessary to develop empathy in these relationships (p. 61). Regarding the development of an empathetic attitude Henning (2013) concludes, “By thinking about issues from perspectives that may be unfamiliar, students begin to break preconceived stereotypes and examine potential similarities between certain cultures” (p. 61). The need for empathy is at an all-time high in the world today. Fear of the unknown, especially regarding people from different countries, has created an atmosphere of distrust thereby hindering communication.

This Critique of Person Centred Counselling offers an insight into The Person Centred Approach developed by Carl Rogers. I will firstly introduce Rogers and his influences. An exploration of Person Centred Counselling

Carl Rogers first principle is what makes his form of therapy most different than many other forms of therapy. Rogers stress that when a therapist congruent with their patients, then this allows that patient to shed the fear of being a shame, shy or feel that they can not tell the truth. Rogers first principle is that a therapist is congruent with the client. Congruency displayed by a therapist welcomes a person's ability to explore who they truly desire to be without any judgment or repercussions. Roger believed that in a therapy session a person should explore who they desire to be. This concept ties the video and Rogers principle of congruency together. Throughout the video there where symbols of beings changing form. Note that the word

The person-centered theory is also referred to as the client-centered theory. It is presently a popular theory for therapy and counseling. Rogers believed in clients helping themselves so that they could empower themselves with a self-actualizing motive to improve their lives. He did not believe in the concept of treating people as patients that had mental issues and needed to be diagnosed. His ideas continue to be relevant in modern psychology (Cervone & Pervin, 2010).