Client/person-centered (rogers)

who created person-centered therapy

carl rogers

development of theory had three phases

• nondirective phase

• client centered phase

• person centered phase

philosophical underpinnings

• phenomenology

• creativity

• actualizing tendency

• existential

  • alienation

  • anxiety

  • authenticity

  • choice/responsibility

  • awareness of experience in the present moment

function of the psyche

• actualizing tendency

• organismic experience

• organismic valuing process

• self-observation/awareness

structure of the psyche

• organismic experience

• self-concept

personality development

congruence between organismic experience and self-concept during infancy

Humans are guided by:

• Actualizing tendency → innate drive to grow, heal, and fulfill potential → people move towards self-actualization

• A broader formative tendency → movement toward complexity and order in the universe.

role of environment

positive regard continuum:

completely unconditional ————————————completely conditional

interaction of human nature and environment

• develop need for positive regard

• perceive conditional positive regard from significant others

• develop inner conditions of worth: “to be worthwhile, I must be X”

  • exaggerations

  • part of ones self concept

• deny awareness experiences that contradict conditions of worth

unhealthy functioning

incongruence

• deny our inner wisdom to our awareness

• use rigid, unexamined values when encountering situation

• feel anxiety as organismic experience is subceived

• feel confusion as organismic experience sporadically breaks into awareness

healthy functioning

congruence —> fully functioning person

• relatively greater degree of congruence

• rely on organismic valuing process (internal, not external locus of evaluation)

• open to experience all feelings

• self-concept characterized by positive self-regard

• values are fluid, changing as each new experience is assimilated

personality change - basic principles

Under certain conditions, a person can regain relative congruence and, thus, become more fully functioning: First, I allow more of my actual inner experience (o.e.) into my awareness and my sense of who I am (s-c). Then, I accept that who I am (s-c) is good enough/ worthwhile and, therefore, who I “should” be.

necessary and sufficient conditions for change

1. Client and counselor in psychological contact

2. Clients state of incongruence

3. Counselor genuineness 

4. Counselors unconditional positive regard

5. Counselor empathy with client’s subjective experience

6. Client perceives Counselor’s success in displaying 3, 4, and 5 of the conditions

counselors roles

• track clients unfolding inner experience through

  • reflection of feeling

  • reflection of meaning

  • reflection of intention/motive

  • reflection of discrepancy

  • disclosure of relevant inner experience

  • open-ended question (rarely)

• understanding of, and response to, two types of resistance

DSM diagnosis

labels are harmful to the human but sometimes represent conditions of worth

pharmacotherapy

not seen as necessary but acknowledges the best practice model for some issues

culture

some possible values conflict in

• role of authority

• perspective/trust in inner self

limitations

• some cross-cultural difficulties in applying concepts

• are the necessary and sufficient conditions really necessary for change?

contributions

• pioneered a nondirective approach to counseling

• pushed humanistic approach into mainstream psychology/counseling