Person-Centered Theory

PCT 

• Proposes that people have an innate drive to work towards self-actualization 

• The more self-actualized a person becomes the more harmoniously they live with others 

Origins and Social Context 

• Carl Rogers dev PCT during 1940s and 1950s  

  • 4 books 

    • The clinical treatment of the problem child (1939) 

    • Counseling and Psychotherapy: New Concepts in Practice (1942) 

    • Client-Centered Therapy (1951) 

    • Psychotherapy and Personality (1954) 

  • Rogers was the first practitioner to use the term "client" versus patient 

Concepts Related to the Actualization Tendency 

• Self-actualization: core tendency all people have to actualize their potential  

Concepts Related to the Self 

• People dev sense of who they are (called self-concept) 

• PCT defines self as the self which I currently conceptualize myself as being 

• Positive regard refers to person's satisfaction when receiving approval from others 

• Positive self-regard is one's sense of personal satisfaction with their actions 

Congruence and the Fully Functioning Person 

• Congruence, which characterizes a fully functioning person, is experienced when the self-concept embraces all of one’s potentials. In the state of congruence, people respect and value all manifestations of themselves, are conscious of all there is to know about themselves, and are flexible and open to new experiences. 

• Characteristics of the ideal lifestyle include: 

  • An openess to experience, featuring the qualities of emotionality and reflection 

  • Living life in accordance with one’s values and capabilities, featuring flexibility, adaptability, spontaneity, and inductive thinking 

  • Organismic trusting (letting decisions come to oneself rather than basing them on the opinions of others) 

  • Experiencing oneself as functioning freely 

  • Creativity (the ability to produce new and effective thoughts, actions, and things in response to environmental challenges) 

• In contrast, the non-ideal lifestyle is characterized by defensiveness, living according to a preconceived plan, disregarding one’s physical and psychological self, feeling manipulated, settling for conforming to the expectations of others, and living with conditions of worth. 

Process of Intervention 

• Open and authentic reflection to achieve greater congruence 

• Social worker is nondirective and does not verbally dominate the interactions 

  • Nondirective therapy is associated with client's increased self-understanding, positive feelings, degree of self-exploration, and self-concept 

• Relationship between client and practitioner in combo with client's resources account for 70% of of variance in intervention with specific technique accounting for 15% 

Criticisms 

It may be too non-directive for many clients, who seek and need active feedback about their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. These persons may come from cultures that respect and desire authority, and they may be confused by PCT. Further, the realities of agency life and third-party payment for services often require practitioners to impose limits on the length and course of intervention. 

PCT and PC therapy are responsible for all of the following important developments in direct practice: 

• Articulating a view of the person as inherently resourceful and self-actualizing 

• Establishing the importance of the therapeutic relationship as a healing agent 

• Developing the art of listening and understanding, and demonstrating the therapeutic effects of those qualities on the client 

• Introducing the term client as opposed to patient, to convey greater dignity, respect, and power for the person seeking help 

• Demystifying the process of psychotherapy as an encounter between persons that, while always challenging, does not require mastery of an array of concepts and specific techniques 

• Initiating scientific research on the processes and outcomes of therapy