10. Rogers (Person-Centered Theory) Flashcards
Positive Regard
Experienced through contact with another person
Positive Self-Regard
Self-perpetuating, but can only develop if experience unconditional positive regard
Formative Tendency
Tendency for all matter to evolve from simpler to more complex forms
Actualization Tendency
Tendency within living beings to move toward completion or fulfillment of potentials
Self-Actualization Tendency
Tendency to actualize the self as perceived –> when organism and perceived self in harmony
Barriers to Psychological Growth
Conditions of worth, incongruence, defensiveness, disorganization
Conditions of Worth / External Evaluations
Perception that people love you only if you meet their expectations/conditions
Incongruence
When organismic self and perceived self do not match –> leads to vulnerability, anxiety, threat
Defensiveness
Protection of self-concept against anxiety and threat by denial or distortion of experiences inconsistent with it
Disorganization
Experienced when distortion and denial are insufficient to block out incongruence
Basic Premise of Client Centered Counselling
If the conditions of (i) therapist congruence, (ii) unconditional positive regard and (iii) empathic listening are present in client-counselor relationship, client perceives these characteristics, and therapist/client in contact for some duration, then therapy process will transpire and certain outcomes can be predicted
Outcome of Therapeutic Process
Congruent client who is less defensive and more open to experience
Stages of Therapeutic Process
Seven-stage process of constructive personality change on continuum from most defensive to most integrated
Person of Tomorrow
Fully functioning persons who are adaptable, open to experience, live existentially, have harmonious relations with others, are integrated, trust human nature, and have great richness in life
Sub-systems of Self
Self-Concept and Ideal Self
Self-Concept
Those aspects of one’s being and experiences perceived in awareness by individual
Ideal Self
One’s view of self as one wishes to be
Awareness
Symbolic representation of some portion of our experience; synonymous with consciousness and symbolization
Levels of Awareness
(i) Ignored, (ii) accurately symbolized, (iii) distorted
Chicago Studies
Aimed to investigate process and outcomes of client centered therapy and showed that people receiving such therapy showed some growth or improvement as compared to others with mental health issues, but fell short of optimum control group who did not have mental health issues
