Person Centered Therapy

“He who takes the first breath is declared the listener”

3 rd force in pscyhology

Background -

Rogers described his family as warm, religious and hardworking. Family moved to farm when he was 12 to put into practice Christian principals of hard work and to get children away from city influences. He was the 4 th of 6 children. Rogers first interest was in agriculture and he went to the U. of Wisconsin in 1902. He later attended seminary, then switched to teachers college. Did internship in psychoanalytically based child guidance clinic, and then worked for 12 years in Rochester in child guidance work. First he developed the methods, then later the theory behind person-centered therapy from his own experience.

At one time, Rogers work was considered radical. It is a therapy without techniques, and is non-diagnostic. Started by calling it non-directive, then client-centered, the becoming one's experience, then person-centered . The shifts in names reflect changing emphasis of the model – the first period, non-directive, was a reaction to the directive models of the time. It emphasized focusing on the clients' verbal and nonverbal communication to gain insight into feelings. The second period, client-centered, shifted the emphasis away from the methods and more to the client, looking at the client's frame of reference. The third period, the becoming one's experience, is characterized by testing the underlying hypothesis that people progress best when there are sufficient conditions of understanding and willingness to engage in the process of "becoming". During this period, the 60's and 70's, Roger's work was adapted in education called student-centered teaching. Finally, the last period, person-centered, focused on the application of his approach to a broad spectrum of settings – schools, leadership, politics, etc.

Difference between humanists and existentialists – an existentialist says we are faced with anxiety of creating identity in world that lacks intrinsic meaning. Humanists say each of us has potential to actualize and find meaning. Humanist say the acorn will grow into an oak tree under the right conditions, an existentialist will say there is no internal nature of an acorn and the acorn has to consider what it means to be an acorn. Both models believe in the subjective experience of the client, the freedom and choice of the individual, and the importance of personal responsibility.

Basic concepts

Individual can resolve his own problems, set own goals and monitor own progress. There is one motivational force in humans, the tendency toward self-actualization. Text called this the actualizing tendency – the striving toward realization, fulfillment, autonomy, self-determination and perfection.

We form our sense of self from our interaction with the world and others, and our values come from others and from within ourselves. Our behaviors are our attempts to satisfy our perceived needs, but it is important to remember that it is our (client's) perception of the world that makes up reality. Some of our behavior is inconsistent with our view of our “self” and we become psychologically maladjusted when we deny our true feelings or attempt to be something we are not to satisfy others (or what we think others want us to be). By denying our true self we develop “masks” and keep in a state of conflict or incongruence.

Therapy

This model emphasizes that therapy is a journey shared by two fallible people, and it is the personal characteristics of the therapist, and the quality of the relationship that gives the client permission to move away from the masks and to grow toward a more self-actualized state of being. The client will have improved self-acceptance, immediacy of experiencing, and will value their own evaluation over opinion of others. People become more open to experience, trust themselves, have an internal source of evaluation, and a willingness to continue to grow. “If certain conditions are present in the attitudes of the person designated “therapist” in a relationship, namely congruence, positive regard, and empathic understanding, then growthful change will take place in the “other”, the person designated as “client.”

From textbook – The 6 Conditions necessary and sufficient for personality changes to occur:

• Two persons in psychological contact.
• The first, the client, is experiencing incongruency.
• The second person, the therapist, is congruent or integrated in the relationship.
• The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard or real caring for the client.
• The therapist experiences empathy for the client's internal frame of reference and endeavors to communicate this to the client.
• The communication to the client is, to a minimal degree, achieved.

The relationship is grounded in:

• Congruence (matching external behavior and expression with internal feelings and thoughts) or genuineness. The therapist models realness – the inner experience must match the outward expression.
• Empathy – this is a moment-by-moment, in the present experience of the client's subjective world. The therapist helps to reflect the feelings the client is experiencing to help the client become more aware of the emotional state. True empathy is very powerful and can help the client experience themselves in new ways.
• Unconditional positive regard – unconditional caring. I accept you. This does not mean you accept all behavior, it means that you accept the person.

Techniques – as discussed in your textbook, the terms “technique” or “strategy” are not used and the tradition model does not include testing, formal history taking, diagnosing or treatment planning. More recent adaptations however may include these features, but with and not to the client. The therapist is not an expert. The only “technique” must be an honest expression of the relationship – active listening, accepting, respecting, understanding and sharing. Therapist stays in the moment-to-moment experience of the relationship. The client can be trusted to choose frequency and length of therapy, to talk or be silent, to decide what needs to be explored. It is the therapist's presence that is essential – actively engaged presence.

Applications

This model is particularly valuable when working with individuals in crisis. In a crisis, people need to express themselves and this model focuses on listening and understanding. Once a person feels heard, they can then muster internal strengths to make decisions. This model is essential for training professionals in a variety of settings that involve human contact. Research also shows this approach is just as effective as other models when working with anxiety, addiction and other mental health disorders. Your text talks about Natalie Rogers use of the model in expressive arts therapy to enhance personal growth.

Limitations or precautions

This approach is more than just reflecting - the therapist must be authentic and actively engaged in the therapeutic process. There is a way to challenge clients from this model, but the therapist must be skilled. It is difficult for some therapists to find a balance between challenging and support – of moving outside the model and being so passive that the model is ineffective.

Individuals looking for direct symptom relief would find lack of structure frustrating. For those cultures that value external opinions, the internal locus of control may not be comfortable.

Video of Rogers

Videos Stan

For next week, log a behavior that you would like to change. See p. 114-115 in Student Manual - we will be working on this behavior change for 2 weeks.

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