PYC4809 assignment 2-Person-Centred Ther PDF

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Section A Question 1 Person-Centred Therapy Carl Rogers – The Pioneer

Up until the 1950’s, particularly in North America, psychoanalysis and behaviourism dominated the psychological approaches employed by psychologists and psychiatrists (Glassman & Hadah, 2009). Many people felt that these paradigms ignored the deep feelings that they had – that they were much more than programmed creatures, slaves to conditioned responses and behaviour over which they had no control and of which they were supposedly not even always consciously aware. Rather, most people firmly believed “that they were unique, thinking, feeling, hoping, dreaming, planning, growing beings that were special in their own unique ways” (Glassman & Hadah, 2009). Contrary to the paradigms ingrained within the predominant psychological approaches of the time (mainly, psychoanalytic and behaviourist), Rogers asserted that within each individual there already existed all of the tools essential for self-actualization (Corey, 2009). Self-actualization is essentially defined by humanists as an inherent desire to grow and to develop one’s capacities to their fullest that exists within each human being (Glassman & Hadah, 2009). Rogers’ groundbreaking research “emphasized the attitudes and personal characteristics of the therapist and the quality of the client– therapist relationship as the prime determinants of the outcome of the therapeutic process” (Corey, 2009). He identified 3 basic conditions within the therapeutic setting which he indicated were essential for personal growth, namely, unconditional positive regard, openness and empathy (Corey, 2009). The Psychotherapy Networker identified Carl Rogers as being “the single most influential psychotherapist of the past quarter century” (“The Top 10”, 2007, in (Corey, 2009)), and Rogers’ approach has subsequently become one 1

of the most widely implemented forms of counselling within therapeutic as well as within lay-counselling communities (Boeree, 1997).

Therapeutic goals The primary goal of person-centred therapy may be seen as focusing on the client achieving the greatest possible degree of autonomy and integration (Corey, 2009). Rogers suggested that the focus should be on the person, rather than on the problems being presented; that the self-actualizing potential of the person was more important than “solving” the problems which they had. As paraphrased by Orlans and Van Scoyoc (2009), he furthermore suggested that “the experience of being understood, seen, accepted and validated within a relational context” would foster this self-actualizing tendency.

Within a climate of safety, security and acceptance, a client is freed to be and to become their authentic self; they may discard the masks behind which they obfuscate their true self; they may become active participants in determining the course of therapy and begin the process of learning to become more fully functioning, integrated individuals (Corey, 2009). Rogers (1961, in Corey, G. 2009) described those who had reached this point in their therapy as having the following characteristics: “(1) an openness to experience, (2) a trust in themselves, (3) an internal source of evaluation, and (4) a willingness to continue growing”. It is asserted that encouraging these characteristics is the primary focus of the therapeutic process (Corey, 2009). In recounting a personal experience, Rogers recalled how, with amazement, he “discovered” that person-centred therapy has a remarkably predictable quality – provided that certain conditions are met by the therapist within the client-therapist relationship, the therapeutic process tends to follow a predictable path of self-actualization (Rogers, Significant Aspects of ClientCentred Therapy, 1946). The role and function of the therapist As stated above, Rogers believed it to be essential that the therapist operate on certain principles or conditions. In his classic paper, titled Significant 2

Aspects of Client-Centered Therapy (1946), Rogers listed the following 6 principles: 1) The counsellor honours the principle of autonomy and allows the individual to assume full personal responsibility for him/herself. 2) The client has an inherent force that is sufficient to allow the client to become productive, independent, mature and socially adjusted; this force is relied upon, rather than the therapist’s training, skills and abilities in order to facilitate therapeutic change. 3) The therapist uses his/her skills and training exclusively in order to create a therapeutic environment that is warm, safe and permissive. The environment allows the client to freely express him/herself, but also allows the client to withhold information, with no coercion employed in order to extract information or direct the therapeutic process. 4) Any limits that may be set should exclusively be limitations on behaviour, rather than on expression or attitudes. So, for example, the client may express anger and a desire to smash something in the counselling room, but the client may not actually physically smash something. 5) Any “techniques” that are employed should exclusively aim to convey unconditional positive regard, acceptance and understanding. The attitude conveyed at all times is purely one of acceptance, neither disapproval nor approval. 6) The counsellor should refrain from all forms of probing, blaming, advice, persuasion, reassurance, suggestion and interpretation, as well as from any behaviour that is in any way contrary to the above principles.

The client-therapist interrelationship Many clients first choose to approach therapy because of a sense of helplessness and powerlessness; essentially their live have in some way become unmanageable (Corey, 2009). It is only from within a safe, accepting and inviting environment – within a climate of empathy and genuine concern – that they are freed to explore those deepest fears and beliefs that trouble them most. Rogers places great emphasis on the critical nature of this empathic climate. His closing remarks in his article titled Empathic: An 3

Unappreciated Way of Being (1975) gracefully sum up his point of view: “The gentle and sensitive companionship of an empathic stance – accompanied of course by the other two attitudes [acceptance and congruence] – provides illumination and healing. In such situations deep understanding is, I believe, the most precious gift that one can give to another.” They are finally able to gain hope for relief and for change, and to be able to realise that the power for change already lies within them. When the 6 conditions are met, says Rogers (1946), the predictability of the process becomes evident and in the vast majority of instances the following results can be expected with assurance: 1) The client will be able to express deep, motivating attitudes. 2) The exploration of self will occur more deeply and more fully than was previously possible. 3) A deeper, clearer and more complete acceptance and realisation of motivating attitudes will begin to emerge. 4) Consequently, of his/her own volition, he/she will begin to choose new, more satisfying goals to replace the maladjusted goals of the past. 5) He/she will begin to spontaneously behave differently, becoming more congruent and more closely aligned with the new goals. Through strict adherence to the 6 principles, rather than being the driving force behind change, a person-centred counsellor becomes a catalyst for change (Corey, 2009).

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References Boeree, G. 1997. (Boeree, 1997). Accessed 27th May 2016 http://www.ship.edu/%7Ecgboeree/perscontents.html Corey, G. 2009. Theory and Practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy, Eighth Edition. Thomson Higher Education, Belmont, USA. Glassman, W. & Hadah, M. 2009. Approaches to Psychology, Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill, Berkshire, UK. Orlans, V. & Van Scoyoc, S. 2009. A Short Introduction to Counselling Psychology. SAGE Publications Ltd, London, UK. Rogers, C. 1975. Empathic: An Unappreciated Way Of Being, The Counselling Psychologist, 5, 2-10 Rogers, C. 1946. Significant Aspects of Client-Centred Therapy, American Psychologist, 1, 415-422

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