A Reflective Account of Client-Centered Theory - Essay Example

A Reflective Account of Client-Centred Theory Key Concepts in Client-Centred Theory Client-Centred Theory, proposed by Carl Rogers, is founded on non-directive therapeutic principles emphasizing the concepts of unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence. Withholding any judgement on the part of the therapist, clients are accepted for what they are. It is a theory that aims to achieve congruence of self to so that clients can have authenticity and integrating their public and actual selves as one in the process. The therapist encourages clients to move towards self-actualization and believes that they should be hopeful for the future even if their past negative experiences have caused several challenges on their personal development (Weiten & McCann, 2006). To be effective as a client-centred therapist, one should have congruence himself before he can recognize incongruence in others. This means that the therapist knows himself well and can show his true self to his client. Being congruent means having awareness of one’s own internal processes, moods, thoughts and emotions. The therapist does not necessarily express them in therapy. Merry (1995) agrees that therapists are confident enough to know when it is appropriate to express their feelings during therapy that would be helpful to the client. They should always be respectful of how the client may feel about such expressions and not be judgmental of them. For example, if the therapist feels a certain emotion for the client, he is ready to accept it and not reject it but knows how to manage such emotions to still show empathy and unconditional positive regard for the client. (Bozarth, 1998) Unconditional Positive Regard is another important concept in Client Centred Therapy. This is achieved with the therapist “communicating his or her empathic understanding of the client’s frame of reference” (Mearns & Thorne, 1999, p. 63). Hence, no matter what the client thinks or feels at the moment, the therapist is ready to accept it without any judgment (Rogers, 1980). This may be a huge challenge to therapists especially if they lack the maturity and wisdom needed for the task. A client-centered therapist should have the openness to accept any client who may have beliefs or values they do not agree with. This kind of maturity enables him to help anyone in dealing with their issues and see their true stregnths and weaknesses. Corey (2005) explains that a therapist should gain the trust of the client so that openness to experience, self-trust and self-esteem will develop. These will serve as the clients’ sources of strength that will facilitate their in problem-solving. Another important concept in CCT is empathy. This pertains to the therapist’s “commitment to understanding the client’s inner subjective world and expressing the extent of that understanding” (Merry, 2000, p. 43). The client feels as if the therapist is seeing the world through the same perspective as him (Merry, 2000). Rogers (1986) considers empathy as healing in itself. It is powerful in helping a client to express his innermost fear and other things he has kept deep into himself for fear of being misjudged and misunderstood. Empathy is part of unconditional positive regard. Bozarth (1998) agrees that “empathic understanding is the unconditional acceptance of the individual’s frame of reference” (p. 54). In sum, in Client Centered Therapy, a client comes to therapy feeling helpless and at a loss on how to manage his life issues and challenges. The client finds comfort in therapy with a therapist who accepts him unconditionally and understands where he is coming from. With the trust he develops for the therapist, he can express his innermost thoughts and feelings, whether they be positive or negative, assured that he will not be misjudged and rejected. In such a therapeutic relationship, the client is assisted in his healing and makes a decision to take positive action towards self-actualization. Reflection on Empathy Lab Experiences Having been exposed to a variety of psychological models in therapy, I first thought that the Client-Centered approach based on Rogerian philosophy would be easy, as it is one of the few approaches that allow the therapist to relax and concentrate on the needs of the client. I thought that the freedom from too many rules imposed by some models such as being objective and professional would be easy for the client-centered therapist and make him be more relaxed by just being himself. I was in for a great surprise. Playing the observer, at first, it was easy for me to judge my group mates who played the therapist and the client on their effectiveness in CCT. My knowledge was fresh from the lectures and readings I had. While watching them, I kept on reviewing my notes mentally and was quick to think they were not doing it right because the therapist may be harsh with her handling of the therapy session or the client may be too shy to share her need for the therapy. I was mentally rehearsing what I would do when my turn as therapist and client comes. Although being the observer was the easiest role we can play, I also realized that I should have been more open to listening and learning from my group mates. I thought I was always right, and kept my eye open for the faults of my group mates. I was not being empathetic to their situation as what Ellis’ explained about Empathic understanding (class notes), hence, I closed myself from learning more. My next role was that of the client. Knowing that it is the person who has not achieved congruence and is the one seeking help for her problems, I thought of making it difficult for the one playing the therapist to test how much she has learned from class. I pretended to be another character. I presented myself as an uptight person who was very conscious of what other people will say, but deep inside, I was very bitter for not being allowed to express myself fully. I pretended that my parents were very strict and watched my every move, and expected only the best behavior from me. They scolded me every time I laughed out loud or used words that are not expected of our status, coming from a privileged class. My case proved to be a difficult one because everything reflected by my public persona was in conflict with my actual self. Inside me was a person too eager to show the world that I am actually a funny, passionate, warm and spontaneous being but my public self kept me from doing so. In the course of my role-playing I was beginning to feel that I was expressing my own situation except from the bit about coming from a privileged background. It was my parents’ strict upbringing that was common with the client I played in the session. The ‘therapist’ was overwhelmed with the case I presented. She tried to practice non-directive techniques with me, but I remained stubborn in keeping my inner self hidden. Personally, I would not want to have a client that I was playing in the therapy session because it will not progress fast and smoothly. I observed that the therapist was getting nervous, so I decided to soften it a little. I opened up a little, and she saw the opportunity to give me specific feedback that she appreciated the fact that I was telling her something that was hard for me to confess. I found myself warming up to her and opening up more about some anecdotes that reveal more about the real me. Finally, it was my turn to be the therapist. I felt I was in the hot seat and all eyes were on me. I know that client-centered therapists should have congruence of their public and private selves, but at the moment, I know I was not congruent. I was very conscious of how I would portray my role instead of truly listening to the client. My group mate actually made it easy for me to play the role of therapist because she immediately opened up to me about her problems with her stubborn and proud boyfriend. I tried to remember how to give positive feedback (Sanders, 1996) and told her it must have been hard for her to put up with such a difficult boyfriend. It felt fulfilling when she agreed and opened up some more about how her boyfriend would verbally abuse her. I stopped myself from asking direct questions as I knew it would put her off and send her back to her shell (Patterson, 1985). So I just let her share her problems with me while I often affirm with “yes, go on” and “um hmm”. I realized that keeping my eyes focused on her and nodding at her when she seemed to need affirmation facilitated her opening up more. However, once she started talking about her dominant father who was against her having a relationship with her boyfriend, I related to her problem and remembered my own strict father. Yes, I empathized with her, but later on, I was more focused on my own personal issues (Rogers, 1959 in Bozarth, 1998). At that time, I was at a loss if I should share my own similar experience with an overly-strict parent or not. I decided to keep it to myself. My client’s openness became inconsisten toward the end of the session. I think it was because I was suddenly stiff and was more focused on my own recollection than on her problem. The session was ended awkwardly, as I was not prepared to have closure and the client awaited my cue to end the session. Greenberg & Geller (2011) advised that the therapist should be able to suspend her own needs and concerns and focus on the client’s so she can receive her fully with “a sense of openness, acceptance and non-judgment” (p. 144). Still, I believe it was a good session for me, as I was beginning to be more self-aware. I still have a long way to go, to being fully congruent. Rogers (1961) gives this assurance: “No-one fully achieves this condition, yet the more the therapist is able to listen acceptantly to what is going on within himself and the more he is able to be the complexity of his feelings, without fear, the higher the degree of congruence” (p. 61). Having had a preview of CCT, my understanding of the model has grown because of the personal experience that complemented my knowledge from the lectures and readings. Rogers (1957) outlined 6 conditions in psychotherapy for it to be effective in bringing about change and healing to the client, as follows: 1. Two persons are in psychological contact. 2. The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable and anxious. 3. The second person, whom we shall term the therapist, is congruent or integrated in the relationship. 4. The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client. 5. The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the client’s frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client. 6. The communication to the client of the therapist’s understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved. (from class notes) So far, not all of the conditions were met yet, because my group mates and I are still inexperienced in this area and are just in training. However, if we continue to pursue our personal and professional development, then we shall see constructive changes in the future not only for us but also for our future clients. How CCT is Helpful as a Counselling Intervention Among the variety of counselling interventions, CCT is one which emphasises being true to oneself in order to achieve self-actualization. It does not investigate one’s distant past and goes directly to appeasing the client’s grief through empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard. In fully unlocking the client’s perceptions, feelings and motivations for his unhealthy behaviours, the therapist needs to have maturity and the ability to accurately empathize with the client on interpersonal, cognitive and affective levels. As a client, having a supportive therapist with great capacity to understand his issues and concerns conveys to him that he is a person worthy of a second chance. Being successful in encouraging the client to finally release his pent-up feelings, thoughts and frustrations, the therapist together with the client can both work on finding solutions for the problem in a more objective manner. CCT gives priority to the need for clients and therapists to be more self-aware. Hence, reflection is essential in their journey towards the achievement of authenticity and congruence. Should they develop this skill well, then therapy is more likely to be a success not only in providing solutions and healing but also in developing a more positive disposition and self-confidence to rise from deep problems. Indeed, CCT provides much hope for the field of counselling and psychotherapy! References Bozarth (1998) Person-Centred Therapy: A Revolutionary Paradigm. PCCS Books Corey, G. (2005) Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy, 7th ed. Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning Inc. Ellis, J. (2014) The Attitudinal Conditions of the Person-Centred Approach. Class Notes Greenberg, L.S. & Geller, S.M. (2001) Rogers Therapeutic Conditions - Congruence. PCCS Books. Mearns, D. and B. Thorne (1999) Person-Centred Counselling in Action, 2nd Edition. London: Sage. Merry, T. (1995) Invitation to Person Centred Psychology. London: Whurr Merry T. (2000) Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling, PCCS Books Patterson, C.H. (1985) The Therapeutic Relationship: Foundations for an Eclectic Psychotherapy. Brooks Cole. Rogers, C. (1957) The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Therapeutic Personality Change, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21 (2). Rogers, C. (1961) On Becoming A Person, Houghton Mifflin. Rogers, C. (1980) A Description of the Person-Centred Approach of Being. Houghton Mifflin. Rogers, C. (1986) Rogers, Kohut and Erickson: A personal perspective on some similarities and differences. Person-Centred Review 1(4), 375-7 Sanders, P. (1996) First Steps in Counselling. Manchester PCS Books. Weiten, W. & McCann, D. (2006) Psychology: Themes and variations, 1st Ed., Nelson College Indigenous. Read More