Understand Different Approaches to the Use of Counselling Skills

Rogers used the symbolism of concept of self, being like a plant given water, soil, sun, and fertilizer. In these optimum or ‘facilitative’ conditions the client concept of self can grow and unfold like the plant. The client would

The key approaches to counselling are Psychoanalysis, Humanistic, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).

Carl Rogers was an American Psychologist. He was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and the founder of person-centered psychotherapy. He also developed the notion of the fully-functioning person. He focused a lot of the development of self. Carl Rogers was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century.

Carl Rogers is among the small group of enlightened, visionary individuals that stand as giants in the field of psychology. Due to the theories that Rogers developed not only in psychology but in theories of education, he is considered, as Constance Holden writes, "…one of the grand old men of American psychology and a leading figure in the postwar development of humanistic psychology" (Holden, 1997, p. 31). This paper reviews his theory of personality, his approach to therapy and the contributions he made to the field of psychology as a whole.

Before looking at the latter 3 in more detail, it is important to understand Carl Rogers’s view of the person and perhaps what is ultimately bringing the client to therapy. Carl Rogers believed that there is incongruence between the self that is the actualisation part, that has a desire to grow, is open to experiencing in the moment and ultimately psychological well being and the actual experience of the self. He believed this effect was caused

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a structured style of therapy requiring direction from the clinician. Studies have found that the skill of the therapist is directly related to the outcomes of therapy (Strunk et al., 2010). As this style of therapy involves collaboration, as well as gentle direction by the therapist (Sudak, 2011), an incompetent therapist can lead to therapy not being tailored to the individual, therefore reducing therapeutic gains. Studies have found clients reported that at times they have felt under pressure to give particular answers when receiving CBT, or that therapy was not flexible (Barnes et al., (2013). Therefore a style of therapy that is flexible in nature, and directed toward areas that the client most wishes to work on may be more appropriate.

The humanistic ideas of Carl Rogers is what differentiates him from other psychologists. Carl strongly believed in Abraham Maslow’s idea of self-actualization. Self-actualization is the idea that there is a stage in a person’s life where they realize all of their greatest talents while still being aware of their limitations.

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

Someone who uses counselling skills will utilise the same key concepts and principles, such as empathy and unconditional positive regard, but is less likely to belong to, and be bound by, a

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

Humanist Carl Rogers developed a theory that saw behavior motivated by what he called the actualizing tendency, the desire to preserve and enhance oneself through self-actualization. While persuing self- actualization we engage in the valuing process, where we go through various experiences that either enhance oneself and are valued as good, or, bad experiences not enhancing oneself which are avoided. Hence, how we handle this process relies on two interacting factors: the organism, our total perception of our experiences, and, the self, our image of ourselves. A major decisive factor is childhood experience and the positive regard that is engrossed. Rogers also developed a technique called client-centered therapy. In an accepting atmosthere the patient confronts inconsistent feelings and experiences, where self and organism are brought back into congruence. Now free from their troubles they can proceed with

Throughout the history of Psychology, Carl Rogers is known as one of the most influential psychologists thanks to his lifetime contributions. His contributions vary from forming a new psychological theory and its consequent practices to writing books and publishing research papers.

Carl Roger’s self-centered theory was accredited through a humanistic approach. A humanistic approach in psychology emphasizes empathy and stresses the greater good in an individual’s behavior. Carl Rogers is considered one of the founders to the humanistic approach in psychology. Rogers constructed his research through Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s research on self-actualization was the point in a person’s life where he/she has overcome his/her difficulties and are able to move forward in life. This influenced Roger’s research he expanded what Maslow called self-actualization into a self-concept. This meant our self- concept was congruent with ideas about his/herself match his/her actual experiences.

He believed people learn to grow toward self-actualization during their entire life span. Rogers viewed this concept as counseling instead of psychotherapy. Rogers did not believe the idea about the therapist and client as a patient-doctor relationship. He believed that the relationship was person-to-person because he viewed the idea as the therapist talking with the client, not the client doing the majority of the talking (Cooper & McLeod, 2011). Rogers preferred to use the term “client” instead of “patient” because he related the term “patient” to an individual that is sick or has an illness. Roger’s theory was based on his insight into the human condition (Cervone & Pervin, 2010).

Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist. He was one of the founders of the Humanistic approach to psychology. He was born on January 8, 1902. His father was a civil engineer while his mother was a homemaker. He had five siblings and he was the fourth one. Originally, he planned to study agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with an undergraduate focus on history and religion. In school, his interests shifted away from agriculture and toward religion. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1924, he entered a liberal Protestant seminary in New York City.