CARL ROGERS: THE FOUNDER OF PERSON-CENTRED THERAPY
The
American psychologist Carl Rogers was largely responsible for the early
development of Person-centred therapy during the 1940s and 1950s.
Rogers was somewhat of a revolutionary in that he saw the client,
rather than the therapist, as the expert on their life. Rogers saw the
potential for people to be autonomous and able to work out their own
solutions if they were given certain conditions.
The
conditions which Rogers believed to be therapeutic are essentially to
do with the counsellor being genuine, empathic and accepting with their
client. Being genuine is about being real without a professional
façade. Being empathic is about understanding what it is like for the
client; being able to see and understand what life is like in someone
else's shoes. Being accepting is respecting the client no matter what
their ethnicity, beliefs, race, gender, or sexual identity (or any
other aspect of a person's personality) even if the counsellor has
different views.
At first
Rogers termed this new approach ‘non-directive’ but was later
misunderstood and criticised by many of his contemporaries as they saw
his approach as passive and inactive. As a result he later termed this
therapy as ‘client-centred’ which emphasised that it was the client’s
experience which was paramount. The term Person-centred, in turn, grew
from this mainly because the approach influenced not only client work
(in therapy) but also education, diversity, management as well as peace
and conflict resolution. Rogers died in 1987 at the age of 85. Since
Rogers there have been many key figures all over the world developing
the Person-centred approach.
CLIENT IS THEIR OWN BEST EXPERT
Despite
the name, Person-centred counselling is not usually about giving advice
or telling a client what to do. The Person-centred counsellors I know
do not see themselves as the all-knowing expert regarding a person's
problems but rather see the client as the expert on themselves. With
this approach, counselling is not like a doctor-patient relationship
where problems are diagnosed and where the doctor is the more powerful
expert; it is more about treating people as equals.
Despite
being ‘non-directive’, person-centred counselling is not necessarily a
cosy chat and may be challenging. Being person-centred is about being
respectful and accepting, it is not necessarily about being over polite
or putting on a façade. Person-centred counselling is more about being
real in a warm, accepting and understanding environment.
IF A CLIENT KNOWS BEST WHY SHOULD THEY SEEK COUNSELLING?
As
already described, Person-centred philosophy embraces the notion that,
deep down, we all know what is best for ourselves. So then why should
we see a counsellor if we already know what we want? The Person-centred
approach also recognises the fact that attaining our true potential
needs certain conditions in place; we all need unconditional positive
regard (total acceptance), empathy (deep understanding) and congruence
(genuiness in others). However, in life and in our day-to-day
relationships, these conditions are not necessarily easy to find.
Who
we really are or who we really want to be, may not meet with the
approval of others. In this case, we may act and behave in ways to meet
with other's acceptance rather than being who we really are.
Person-centred philosophy recognises that we all need the acceptance or
positive regard of others. Consequently, at some time or another, we
might act in ways to gain that acceptance, even if it means being
incongruent (or untrue to ourselves). We may even come to believe that
we are the kind of person that others around us want us to be, even if
we are not. We might become so incongruent that it leads to stress,
anxiety and depression.
A
typical scenario might be a person brought up in a homophobic
environment. This person may come to experience gay feelings that they
find difficult to accept. They may even deny these feelings to
themselves or to their own awareness. Perhaps they deny these feelings
in order to meet with their parents' approval; it might be unbearable
to face the rejection and non-acceptance of the people they love most.
It might be more bearable for them to pretend that they are not gay
rather than to face being ostracised by their own family. Arguably, the
person described here is clearly not experiencing a climate where they
can become their true self and their acceptance is conditional on their
not being gay.
A
Person-centred counsellor can offer a growth-promoting climate where
the person is accepted unconditionally. A competent Person-centred
counsellor would also be genuine without a façade and without any
hidden agenda. The counsellor would express empathy and would be
committed to spending time being with their client. Being with a client
does not just mean physically being with somebody but rather is more to
do with giving undivided attention in understanding what it feels like
for their client. For this to happen the counsellor needs to be
committed to their client in thoughts, words and deeds. The competent
Person-centred counsellor will be a skilled listener and communicator.
In this climate a person is able to discover who they really are and
what their experience means for them in a caring environment without
judgement or condemnation.
With
the above in mind, it is evident that the Person-centred approach to
therapy is a philosophy and not based on a technique (this is not
discrediting techniques, by the way, as many techniques are truly
helpful but merely saying that there is a philosophy at its foundation
rather than a technique). A Person-centred therapist believes that we can become our true selves. A Person-centred therapist believes that
offering unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence are the
key to therapy. I have heard some therapists say that they use empathy or they use acceptance or they use congruence.
Unless you are genuinely in possession of these qualities, you cannot
simply "use" them at will, or when called upon to do so.
BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT
If
you are interested in reading more about the Person-centred approach to
therapy there are numerous books on the subject. However, there a few
which I have especially enjoyed and which are not too much like a text
book. I have listed them below.
Bozarth, J. (1998) Person-Centered Therapy: A Revolutionary Paradigm. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books
Mearns, D. & Thorne, B. (1999) Person-Centred Counselling in Action 2nd edition. London: Sage
Merry, T. (2002) Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling 2nd edition. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books
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