What Is Person Centred Approach

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,

Person-centred approach is a psychological trend which was invented by Carl Rogers (1902-1987). Carl Rogers was an American psychologist and psychotherapist. His hypothesis was that each person owns a reserved potential of self-understanding and the power to change themselves positively. The task of psychotherapy and helping relationship is to help to mobilize those reserved potentials. The person-centred relationship has three main features:

It is important that the therapist conduct sessions in a way where they are showing themselves in the session without pretense. This allows a growth-promoting climate with the psychoanalysis of the client’s behavior. An important factor for a successful person-centered therapy allows clients the freedom to develop and control their own lives, rather than being tied to their past (Goodwin, 2008). This method also denotes and consists of psychotherapy theory and humanistic therapy where the concentration is on the present rather than the past, and the humanistic analyst tends to underlines awareness instead of being unaware. Both theories share a common method while patients and clients converse their feelings vocally and the therapist provide analyses.

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

Person Centered Therapy was developed by Carl Rogers in the 1940’s and 1950’s. It remains a relevant technique practiced today. This article researched the relevance of Person Centered Therapy since Carl Rogers’s death in the late 1987. The article determined the relevance of this by using three measures. First, how often Person Centered Therapy was included in organizations, journals, and institutes dedicated to this approach. Secondly, it researched how often Person Centered Therapy was included in new research since Rogers’s death. Finally, any current research that has validated Roger’s core conditions (Kirschenbaum & Jourdan,

In this part of the essay I will focus on Carl Rogers’s theories of a person centred approach, particularly paying attention to first core condition - therapeutic relationship.

In this essay I will look at the claim that Person-Centred Therapy offers the therapist all that he/she will need to treat clients. Firstly, I will outline what Person-Centred therapy is and look at what its originator, Carl Rogers’, theories behind this approach are. I will then discuss some of the criticisms that have been made about Person-Centred Therapy, and weigh them up to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this therapeutic approach. In the conclusion I will reflect on my learning, and on my own experiences and opinions.

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

Much like Existential, person-centered uses many different methods in order to reach a finishing point in therapy. Person-centered Therapy respects the clients experiences, allows them to have uniqueness and in, trust in the client-therapist relationship, offers freedom, responsibility, and searches for meaning and purpose. However, this therapy (unlike Existentialism), is considered a humanistic therapy and is thus, more optimistic and has more of a natural potential

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).

Person-Centered therapy is a nondirective counselling compared to other forms of therapy such as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. For this therapy to be useful to anyone, client need to be in touch with his/her internal experience for this therapy to be effective. This form is therapy primarily believe is that through a accepting relationship between the client and the therapist client will gain the ability to be able to attain a collective insight into the nature of their problem as a result use the self-understanding knowledge gained to take constructive action of their problem. Moreover, the therapy is based on assumptions that People are trustworthy by nature, capability to understand and resolve their own problems and that people are naturally resourceful to have an understanding of why their situation turned out the way it did and also that the client is the agent for self-change. Humanism approach which is an alternative to psychoanalytic and behavioral approaches that emphasize that trust and respect is crucial in other for a therapeutic relationship to be formed and everyone that a natural potential which is the concept person centered approached is based on. In other words, it respect the individuality, subjective experience and uniqueness of an individual and trust the ability of an individual to make a positive and constructive choice. Person-centered therapy purposed 3 key concepts: congruence, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding.

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

In the 1950’s, Rogers changed the name of his approach from non-directive counseling to client-centered therapy, which was focused on the client. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, Rogers and his colleagues conducted exhaustive research on behalf of his theory testing the client-centered notion of “how people best progress in psychotherapy”, and by studying how the client-therapist relationship is a catalyst for personality change. The next period, which evolved in the 1980’s and 1990’s, was centered around the expansion of education, groups, conflict resolution, industry, couples and families, politics and world peace, which in turn created and coined his theory as the person-centered approach (Corey, G. (2013)). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 10th Ed., p. 166-167).

Person centred therapy is a non-directive therapy with a phenomenological approach that aims to see and understand others from their perception. The therapist will create a growth by promoting a non-controlling, caring accepting and genuine environment (Corey, 2001). The goals of a person centred therapy is to enable the clients to move forward positively by working in the present and helping client dealing with obstacles that are stopping clients from their growth. The counsellor will focus on the client and not their issue (Seligman and Reichenberg, 2006).

In my estimation of what Biles stipulated in the paraphrase above, he feels as though the core conditions of person-centered therapy (e.g. 1. Psychological contact; 2. Client incongruence, 3; Therapist congruence; 4. Therapist unconditional positive regard; 5. Therapist empathy; and 6. Communication of 4. and 5.) are somewhat artificial, dogmatic and insufficient (in isolation) for client change (Biles, 2016). In other words, person-centered theory implies that the techniques of other therapies are relatively unimportant except to the extent they serve as channels for fulfilling the core therapeutic conditions of person-centered therapy (Biles, 2016).