6. Person Centered Therapy

Question 1

what is Carl Roger’s background?

Answer 1

• Born in Chicago Illinois
• Conservative family background
• Schooled in a strict, religious environment
• Started to study agriculture, then religion
• Bachelow in 1924, Religious Seminary, Teachers college at Columbia University, PhD in Clinical Psychology in 1931
• Began professional career in child psychology
• 1930 Director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
• Professor of clinical psychology at Ohio State University in 1940

Question 2

what is Carl Roger’s academic and professional path?

Answer 2

• Published results of his research in Client-Centered Therapy, in 1951
• Psychotherapy and Personality Change in 1954
• 1963 joined the staff of Western Behavioural Sciences Institute
• In 1968, Rogers and staff created Centre for Studies of the Person
• Last years: Peace Movement and Conflict resolution in hotspots like Northern Ireland, South Africa and Brazil, Europe and US
• Lived La Jolla, California until his death in 1987

Question 3

who was the main influence of person centered therapy?

Answer 3

carl rogers

Question 4

who was the main influence of humanistic psychology?

Answer 4

Abraham maslow

Question 5

when did humanism arise?

Answer 5

in late 1950s as a third force in psychology

Question 6

what was humanism a response to?

Answer 6

the behaviours and psychoanalytic schools of thought

Question 7

what did humanists believe?

Answer 7

the people are innately good. that morality, ethical values and good intentions are the strongest driving forces in live

Question 8

what does humanism incorporate?

Answer 8

a variety of therapeutic techniques, including Rogerian person-centered therapy

Question 9

what does humanism emphasis on?

Answer 9

goal of self-actualisation

Question 10

What is rogerian therapy based on?

Answer 10

humanstic views; positive view of nature

Question 11

what is the approach to rogerian therapy?

Answer 11

non-directive reflective approach. provides an enriching therapeutic environment

Question 12

what is immediacy?

Answer 12

bringing the past and future into the present - here and now focus

Question 13

what are the central constructs of Person-centered therapy?

Answer 13

• Immediacy: bringing the past and future into the present – here and now focus
• The client’s self actualisation tendency
• The client starts to recognise their own potential ad move towards it
• Starts to develop a healthy self esteem through self acceptance
• Starts to shift form external to internal valuing system

Question 14

what is an external value?

Answer 14

someone says “youre doing so well”

Question 15

what is an internal value?

Answer 15

“I know i am a good person

Question 16

what is required in the therapeutic process of person-centered therapy?

Answer 16

providing sufficient and necessary conditions to change

Question 17

how does one provide sufficient and necessary conditions to change?

Answer 17

through empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence

Question 18

what is empathy?

Answer 18

Feeling with the client (not sympathy) – feel warmly towards them, can understand the suffering that they might be going through

Question 19

what is unconditional positive regard?

Answer 19

respect. This refers to the therapist’s deep and genuine caring for the client. The therapist may not approve of some of the client’s actions but the therapist does approve of the client. In short, the therapist needs an attitude of “I’ll accept you as your are”. The person-centred counsellor is thus careful to always maintain a positive attitude to the client, even when disgusted by the client’s actions.

Question 20

how does one practice unconditional positive regard?

Answer 20

• Don’t judge
• mindset of seeing the person in their environment with their background of where they come from
• No matter what I am going to support this person despite my values and personal morals
• open and embracing the clients ability to grow towards their potential

Question 21

what is congruence?

Answer 21

genuineness. The therapist does not have a façade (like psychoanalysis), that is, the therapist’s internal and external experiences are one in the same. The therapist is authentic.

Question 22

how does one practice congruence?

Answer 22

• congruent with what you say as well as how you come across
• incongruence – say one thing and do another thing
• say you appreciate them and body language shows this too for example

Question 23

what is the idea of the therapeutic process of person centered therapy?

Answer 23

o Client develops self awareness about their own incongruence. find a way to make this more congruent
o Client experiences immediacy and authenticity in the therapeutic relationship

Question 24

what are the therapeutic goals?

Answer 24

• Develop a safe and trusting therapeutic environment
• Develop good rapport
• Self exploration reflection
• develop from external to internal valuing
• develop towards more harmony between ideal self and real self
• develop healthy self esteem
• Move towards “self actualisation”

Question 25

what is the maslows hierarchy of needs?

Answer 25

from top to bottom
esteem
belonging and loving
security and stability
biological needs

Question 26

how did rogers see a self-actualised, fully functioning person?

Answer 26

o Open to experience, is not defensive
o Emphasizes fully living in the moment “here and now”
o Trust in oneself
o Has the ability to freely make choices and takes responsibility for their own choices and takes responsibility for their own choices, highly self0drected
o Embraces a life of creativity and adaptation, including an abandonment of conformity
o Has the ability to have reliably and make constructive choices
o Lives a full, rich life including the full spectrum of human emotions

Question 27

what is incongruent with regard to self-actualisation?

Answer 27

• The self image is different to the ideal self
• There is only a little overlap
• Here self-actualisation will be difficult

Question 28

what is congruent with regard to self-actualisation?

Answer 28

• The self-image is similar to the ideal self.
• There is more overlap
• This person can self-actualise

Question 29

what is motivational interviewing?

Answer 29

• Miller & Rollnick 1980
• Person centered therapy with a twist
• more directive
• cooperative style eliciting behaviour change
• activates client’s motivation for change
• explores ambivalence towards change
• stresses client responsibility for change
• strengths based approach

Question 30

what are the basic principles of motivational interviewing

Answer 30

• Seeks to experience the world through client’s perspective
• Explores discrepancies and ambivalence in relation to change
• Normalises client’s reluctance to change; respectful view of resistance
• Supports client’s self-efficacy in goaling
• Strengthens client’s commitment to change and develops change plans

Question 31

what is are the wider impacts of Person centered therpy concepts?

Answer 31

• Used in the training of therapists and those in the ‘helping professions’
• Self-help groups
• In the encounter movement, marriage enrichment and group dynamics
• in crisis intervention, grief counselling and pastoral are
• Peace movement; To promote international and cross cultural relations

Question 32

what is the process of change in counselling?

Answer 32

action ‘consultant’ -> maintenance -> contemplation ‘socratic teacher’ -> preparation ‘experienced coach’