Person-Centered
Theory
Person-Centered Counseling
Leading Figures
Carl Rogers – once a very shy boy, became very influential in the psychology world.
After being intrigued by the psychodynamic approach in counseling, he pursued a
graduate degree in psychology. Later, he began to develop a more existential-humanistic
approach that later revolutionized how therapists work.
Key theoretical Constructs
 Actualizing Tendency – any and all individuals can reach full potential if in the
right atmosphere and environment that supports the process. Like a flower
blooming when in the right place, but wilting if not. Clients can change if placed
in a nurturing environment.
 Need for Positive Regard – Clients need to feel loved, supported, and appreciated
by those close to them. Acting in a way that lets them receive the positive
feedback, even if the behaviors are not natural (especially seen in children).
 Conditions of Worth – this occurs if significant others, who have the power to
withhold their love and regard, place expectations on a person’s way of
responding. So the person (client) learns to respond how the significant other
wants them to respond.
 Nongenuineness and Incongruence – it is a result when conditions of worth are
placed on the individual. Someone nongenuine is not in touch with his or her
feelings – lying to themselves. Feelings are not in line with thoughts.
 Organismic Valuing Process – process of evaluating the environment and drifting
toward those individuals who positively value one’s natural tendencies or ways of
being and drifting away from those who negatively value them.
 Choice and Free Will – According to Rogers, people are only free to make
choices in their lives based on their subjective view of reality. Individuals are
victims of their past he believed. If individuals are living with a false sense of
self, they make choices grounded in their distortions and defenses. Those who do
have freedom of choice, are not determined by their past. Their choices are clear,
rather than poor much like the individuals who are clouded by their past and make
their choices out of incongruence.
 Self-Determination – process of looking within to make choices about oneself as
opposed to allowing others to direct one’s life. As clients become more in touch
with themselves, they become aware of what decisions and choices are better for
them. Looking for choices within rather than on the outside.
 Non-directive Counseling – Discovering oneself are with us (according to Rogers)
therefore, it is critical as a counselor to create an environment that facilitates
client discovery – therapists do not direct.
 The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions –
o Two people in psychological contact
o One is the client, in a state on incongruence, vulnerable or anxious
o The other is the therapist, congruent and integrated in the relationship
o Therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client.
o Therapist experiences empathic understanding of the clients internal frame
of reference and endeavors to communicate the experience to the client.
o Communication to the client of the therapist’s empathic understanding and
unconditional positive regard is to minimal degree achieved.
Key Technique
 Congruence or Genuineness - To Rogers, this was the most important thing –
being genuine, real, and congruent. Therapist must be in touch with their feelings
as well.
 Unconditional Positive Regard – the counseling relationship should be embraced
and highlighted by a sense of acceptance no matter what the feelings are for the
client. It allows the client to feel safe.
 Empathy – Deep understanding of the client. Using metaphors, analogies, or
visual images to show the client that he or she was accurately heard. Reflecting
feelings, or repeating what the client has said. Subceiving feelings or sensing deep
feelings from the client.
o Carkuff’s Empathy Scale (pg 232)
Role of therapist
The counselor should embody and maintain core conditions of empathy, genuineness,
and unconditional positive regard. The process should involve guiding the client to feel
increasingly safe and opening up over time by sharing feelings, insight, using effective
behaviors, expanding self-understanding, being more autonomous.
Goals
The goal is for the client to feel significantly more positive. Clients tend to worry
too much about what others think; so the therapist tries to get the client to be less
dependent on other, externalized values and standards, such as other’s evaluations of the
client. Rather than a stern, rigid environment, the goal is to have an attitude of openness
between client and therapist. Self-actualization is also a major goal for the therapist to get
the client to find within them. They must learn to see their worth, rather than listening
and believing what the outside world says or does.
What creates symptoms
Symptoms can be caused by a person not perceiving conditions of worth being
place on them. A process of defense is created and they selectively perceive situations,
distort them, and deny threats to self. When an individual has no awareness of self, then
he/she becomes vulnerable to the possibility of anxiety and disorganization…this leads to
a tension state or anxiety.
Conditions of Change
Gaining awareness of the incongruent self is the first step. They must gain an
understanding of their defensiveness, make changes in their lives, and move forward as
they actualize their full potential.
Personal Reactions
To me, I only see this working under certain conditions. Mostly for depression when it is
self-esteem issues. I think it would work great for that…because it is shaped and formed
to build confidence in the client. I would like to know and see how this could be used in
other circumstances…if at all possible.