Person Centred Therapy

Question 1

Give a brief overview of person-centred

Answer 1

Operates on the humanistic belief that the client is
inherently driven toward and has the capacity for growth and self-actualization; it relies on this force for therapeutic change.

Three key concepts in person-centred counselling are: Empathic understanding: the counsellor trying to understand the client’s point of view. Congruence: the counsellor being a genuine person. Unconditional positive regard: the counsellor being non-judgemental.

Question 2

Who is associated with Person-Centered therapy?

Answer 2

carl rogers

Question 3

What are the key concepts of person-centred therapy?

Answer 3

Prime determinants of the outcome of the therapeutic process:
- The attitudes and personal characteristics of the
therapist and the quality of the client-therapist relationship

Question 4

What is person-centred therapy’s view of human nature?

Answer 4

Prime determinants of the outcome of the therapeutic process:
- The attitudes and personal characteristics of the
therapist and the quality of the client-therapist relationship

Question 5

What is the focus of person-centred therapy?

Answer 5

Therapy is rooted in the clients capacity for awareness and self-directed change in attitudes and behaviour

Emphasizes a client’s ability to engage their own resources to act in their world with others.
- by promoting self-awareness and self-reflection, clients learn to exercise choice

Question 6

What are the goals of person-centred therapy?

Answer 6

1. To assist clients in achieving a greater degree of independence and integration so they can better cope with problems as they identify them.
2. To realize that there are more authentic ways of being.
3. To help clients understand that they have the capacity to define and clarify their own goals.

Question 7

What is the role of the therapist in person centred therapy?

Answer 7

The role of the therapist is rooted in their way of being and their attitude, not in techniques designed to get the client to do something

To encounter clients on a person-to-person level

It is the therapist’s attitude and belief in the inner resources of the client that creates the therapeutic climate for growth

The therapist is to be present and accessible to clients and focus on their immediate experience

They must be congruent, accepting, and empathic, acting as a catalyst for change

They are to meet clients on a moment-to-moment experiential basis
Be genuinely caring, respectful, accepting, supportive, and understanding of clients

Question 8

What is the client experience in person-centred therapy?

Answer 8

Clients come to develop an actualizing tendency
- a directional process of striving toward realization, fulfillment, autonomy, and self-determination

Clients are primarily responsible for enacting change in their lives

Clients often enter counselling in a state of incongruence, that is, a discrepancy between their self-perception and their actual experience in reality.

Others enter counselling from a feeling of basic helplessness, powerlessness, and an inability to make decision that direct their own lives
- Therapy helps these clients to find a way through

Clients come to explore wide range of beliefs and feelings

Through therapy, clients come to…
- distort less and move to greater acceptance and integration of conflicting and confusing feelings
- be less concerned about meeting others’ expectations, and thus, begin to behave in ways that are more true to themselves

Question 9

What are the methods techniques and procedures of person-centred therapy?

Answer 9

Early emphasis on reflection of feelings

Therapists should work to grasp the world of the client and reflect this understanding back to them

Counsellors can do this using a simple restatement of what the client had just said

Question 10

What are the strengths of person centred from a diversity perspective?

Answer 10

FIND

Question 11

What are the weaknesses of person centred from a diversity perspective?

Answer 11

FIND

Question 12

Give a brief Overview of Person Centred Therapy

Answer 12

Of all the theoretical systems among the humanistic therapies, the person-centred approach probably has had the greatest impact. It was developed by Carl Rogers in reaction to the traditional, diagnostic, probing and interpretive methods of psychoanalysis. The theory shows consistency from the view of human nature through the processes and techniques used in counselling. Basic to the theory is the inherent tendency of the person to strive toward self-actualization. The name use to describe this approach to counselling and psychotherapy changed from nondirective therapy, to client-centred therapy, and finally to person-centred therapy.

Question 13

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the lesson you should be able to:
describe the key concepts of the person-centred approach;
describe the aspects of the theory as they pertain to the general descriptors listed in Lesson 1;
outline the therapeutic process regarding the therapist, the client, and the relationship between the two;
critically examine your own values, attitudes, and beliefs in relation to the core concepts of the person-centred approach: unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness.

Question 14

The text reading for this lesson is Chapter 7 of Corey’s (2024) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Read the chapter before you begin to do the work in the lesson to get an overview of the theory. Supplement the textbook material by reading the seminal article by Rogers (2007), in which he clearly outlines the necessary and sufficient conditions for effective psychotherapy. This article was originally published in 1957 and was reprinted in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology five years after Rogers’s death. The reprint marked the centennial anniversary of the American Psychological Association and reflects the enduring impact of Rogers’s ideas on the practice of counselling and psychotherapy worldwide. Finally, complement that material by reading the article by Kirschenbaum and Jourdan (2005).

Question 15

What are the basic concepts of person-centred therapy?

Answer 15

After you have read Chapter 7, begin to work on the meanings of the concepts. As Corey addresses each of the concepts, write your own definitions.

Organism
Phenomenal Field
Self
Active listening and reflection
Accurate empathic understanding
Congruence/Genuineness/Authenticity
Unconditional positive regard
Self-actualizing tendency
Ideal Self
Internal frame of reference
Openness to experience

Question 16

What are the basic assumptions of person centred therapy

Answer 16

There are several basic assumptions that apply to person centred therapy.

Humans have an innate tendency toward self-actualization;
The client is the best expert on his/her own experience;
The individual has the capacity to modify his/her perceptions;
If provided with the proper conditions in counselling, clients can arrive at their own solutions to their own problems.

Question 17

Does person centred therapy used heredity explanations?

Answer 17

Heredity: Humans are born with an innate actualizing tendency. Positive forces toward health and growth are natural and inherent in the organism.

Question 18

Does person centred therapy use environment explanations?

Answer 18

Environment: Our feelings about self and others are based on our interaction with others. The self-concept governs the perceptions and meanings attributed to the environment. The structures of the self are formed in the interactions with the environment, particularly the interpersonal environment. The organism selects the features of the environment to which it will react. Our personality becomes visible to us through relating to others. Our actualizing tendency requires external stimulation, that can be provided by the physical, social, and cultural environment in which we live. (Wallace, 1993).

Question 19

Doe person centred use cognitions explanations?

Answer 19

Cognitions: The individual’s subjective perceptions of self and the world are the central determiner of behaviour. The person-centred theory does not segregate the intellect from other functions. Both thoughts and emotions are integrated in the individual’s perception of his/her experience. However, Rogers (1951) saw emotions as accompanying and facilitating goal-directed behaviour in human beings.

Question 20

Does person centred therapy use motivation explanations?

Answer 20

Motivation: According to the person-centred theory, the central motivational force is to actualize, maintain and enhance the self.

Question 21

What is the time orientation of Person Centred THerapy?

Answer 21

The client’s current perceptions of his/her experience constitute the focus of exploration in person-centred counselling. The past is important insofar as it has an enduring impact on the present. Even though the client’s history may emerge during the counselling process, it is not purposely targeted by the counsellor. This approach is known for its focus on the ‘here and now’. The person-centred counsellor would most likely respond to the client’s description of a past incident by reflecting on the current emotional impact that the past event may still have on the client (e.g., “You are still very angry about what your father said to you years ago”). Rogers believed that all the information necessary for change exists in the present and it is not imperative to know and understand the client’s past.

Question 22

What is person centred therapy’s view of human nature?

Answer 22

Humans strive continuously to realize their inherent potentialities and the process of self-actualization is a life-long endeavour. Rogers disagreed with the Freudian view that people are driven by irrational impulses which inevitably lead them into conflict with society. However, early adverse circumstances, namely a social/familial environment based on conditional positive regard, leads to the internalization of conditions of worth. Then, according to Rogers (1959), the individual “values an experience positively or negatively solely because of these conditions of worth which he has taken over from others, not because the experience enhances of fails to enhance his organism” (p. 209).

Question 23

Does person centred therapy use heredity explanations?

Answer 23

Holistic/Atomistic: In Rogers’s holistic view, the organism behaves as a unified whole and not as a series of differentiated parts. It is a single unity. What happens in a part affects the whole (the whole is more than the sum of its parts). The self is the centre of a continually changing world. We make meaning out of all of our experiences. Rogers (1951) defined the self as “an organized, fluid, but consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relations of the ‘I’ or the ‘me’, together with values attached to these concepts” (p. 498).

Question 24

Does person centred therapy use internal/external determinants explanations?

Answer 24

Internal/External Determinants: Rogers stressed the role of internal determiners to personality development and behaviour. Our perceptions of self and the world determine our behaviour. The world we live in and the realities we react to are constructed out of our individual subjective perceptions and interpretations of personal experiences.

Question 25

Does person centred therapy use Nomothetic/Idiographic explanations?

Answer 25

Nomothetic/Idiographic: The emphasis is on the uniqueness of the individual. This phenomenological view emphasizes individual perception, as a private, subjective, and unique experience. Although Rogers encourages us to accept our commonalities, he places an even greater emphasis on the importance of recognizing and accepting our uniqueness.

Question 26

Does person centred therapy use Longitudinal/Cross Sectional explanations?

Answer 26

Longitudinal/Cross Sectional: Person-centred therapy works in the here and now, focusing on the clients’ current perceptions of their phenomenal world. However, longitudinal perspectives do have a place in the person-centred approach as the individual’s journey towards self-acceptance and self-actualization is a life-long process.

Question 27

Does person centred therapy use Tension Production/Reduction: Tension explanations?

Answer 27

Tension Production/Reduction: Tension production. As a self-actualizer, the individual would always strive to expand his or her growth. Full expression of the actualizing tendency is sought through tension increase. Its direction is forward.

Question 28

What is the observer frame of reference for person centred therapy?

Answer 28

Internal: One of the central concepts of the person-centred theory is empathic understanding. According to Rogers (1951), empathy must remain the counsellor’s primary modus operandi, as it is a necessary condition for positive therapeutic change. “The therapist endeavours to keep himself out as a separate person… his whole endeavour is to understand the other so completely that he becomes almost an alter ego of the client… The whole relationship is composed of the self of the client, the counselor being depersonalized for the purpose of therapy into being ‘the client’s other self’.” (p. 42)

Question 29

WHat is the basis for inference for person centred therapy?

Answer 29

Openness of choice and the focus on the client’s unique world-view makes prediction of behaviour unlikely and undesirable.

Question 30

What is the basis for psychopathology for person-centred therapy>?

Answer 30

He following can constitute sources of psychological distress:

early experience of conditional positive regard, leading to the internalization of conditions of worth;
incongruence between the self-concept and self-actualizing tendencies;
guilt for not reaching one’s potentiality;
the organism may deny or distort experiences in awareness in such a way that these experiences cannot be incorporated into the self;

Question 31

What is the bases for healthy personality in person centred therapy?

Answer 31

The primary characteristics of a healthy personality include:

an openness to experience and change;
internalization of an unconditional sense of worth (self-acceptance);
endeavouring to always be genuine, congruent, or authentic.

Question 32

What is the role of the therapist in person centred therapy?

Answer 32

The therapist focuses on the uniqueness of the client. He or she is patient, an expert listener, and one who fully accepts each individual by offering an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding.

Question 33

What are the implications for a helping relationship in person centred therapy?

Answer 33

In the person-centred approach, the client is viewed as responsible and capable of determining his or her own future. Through the counsellor’s consistent attitude of unconditional positive regard, the counsellor models self-acceptance within the client. At the same time, Rogers’s views may have been shaped by his advocacy of what is a questionable Western cultural belief, namely that growth is always in the direction of greater independence and separation.
While most clients seem to respond positively to the person-centred approach, due to its non-directive character this form of therapy can extend over a relatively long period of time. Some clients who expect a more directive form of guidance may find the Rogerian approach somewhat ineffective.

Question 34

What are the goals of helping for person centred therapy?

Answer 34

The goal is to help the client develop his or her own individualized goals, to reorganize the self, to increase openness to experience, and to increase the congruence between self-concept and experience.

Question 35

What are the techniques and procedures for person-centred therapy?

Answer 35

Since the approach stresses the client/therapist relationship, it specifies few techniques. Techniques are secondary to the therapist’s attitudes. The approach minimizes directive techniques and maximizes active listening, reflection of feelings (empathy), and clarification. The emotional quality of the client’s experience is particularly targeted through counsellor’s reflections. Person-centred therapy places a strong emphasis on affect or emotion in the growth of the self and in the therapeutic transaction between therapist and client.

Rogers did not support the technique of interpretation at all, and was highly critical of psychoanalysts who used inappropriately timed, or erroneous interpretations.

While the person-centred approach encourages therapist authenticity and genuineness, Rogers changed his position about therapist self-disclosure through the years. According to Tobin (1991), “he admitted that he had trouble accepting the emotion of anger in himself, which may account for his rather slow acceptance of the expression of this feeling toward clients” (p. 25). In any event, even when employed, self-disclosure from the part of the counsellor must never detract the focus away from the client.

Question 36

Following are some problem situations that call for practical application. The problem situations are exercises in helping you develop your skills in actively listening to client messages and gaining practice in reflecting to the client what was heard. The person-centred approach to counselling emphasizes understanding the client from an internal frame of reference. The following examples will help you learn how to grasp the hidden messages in what clients say and how to reflect feelings as well as content. Write down the feelings of the client and your reflective response to what you hear.

Joe Taylor, an unemployed 23 year-old, described his feelings about himself and his view of life during a first session with a helper. He found out about the service from a public service announcement over the radio and thought a visit might get him a job. Joe said: I feel kind of funny being here and talking to you. I figured you might know of a job or something for me. I haven’t had a job for over two years now- since I last worked at an auto body shop. But the people I worked with were jerks. I wouldn’t go back there again. People say I should go back to school, but I hated school. I didn’t like the teachers, the kids, or the principal! No thanks, that wasn’t the place for me. I got no real friends. Nobody really cares about me and I don’t care about them. I don’t know what to do. I don’t think you can help me. Nobody wants to help me.
What assumptions do you make about Joe based on the person centred theory?
What do you hear Joe saying?
What aspects about himself does he seem to accept and which does he not accept?
How would you establish a helping relationship with Joe?

Man, 32, talking to a counsellor about a possible divorce: I just can’t divorce her. My parents would be so upset. They don’t really like her, but they believe that marriage is forever. My mother is very religious. I don’t go to church much anymore, myself, but my parents aren’t aware of that.
What is the person feeling?
What would be a good reflective response?

A woman, 34, comes for counselling because she fears she is an alcoholic. She has been drinking heavily for several years and recently has had some physical symptoms (blackouts) that she hadn’t experienced before. She has never known anyone with a serious alcohol problem.
What would this person be feeling?
What would be your response to her?

I know I look a wreck. I try to… [pause]. You see, I have three small children. They take up most of my time. My husband… [pause]. He, well, he’s filing for a divorce. [she begins to cry]. No, I’m all right. I just, well, I don’t know what to do. I’m lost. I never thought he’d do this to me. I knew we had a few problems, but I thought we could work them out. Now he’s living with another woman. I can’t believe he’d do this to me… [pause], the mother of his children.
What is the person feeling?
What would be your reflective response?
Self Reflections
What is the view of human nature and what are the basic assumptions underlying the approach?
Which are the three necessary and sufficient conditions for therapeutic personality change, according to Rogers?
What are the major differences between the person-centred approach and psychoanalysis regarding causation of behaviour?
Do you think that the client – counsellor relationship, as advocated by the person centred approach to therapy, is enough to effect behaviour and personality changes in clients? Elaborate on your arguments.
Discuss the concept of self-actualization as it pertains to this theory.
Jason, a person-centred therapist, is in the throws of a difficult divorce. Some of his clients have begun to perceive him as being aloof and uncaring. How will these perceptions on the part of the clients hinder the process of psychotherapy?