The Person-Centered Approach to Counseling - Coursework Example

Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: What is distinctive about the Person-centered approach to counseling? Describe how you have, or would put this approach into practice and to what effect Introduction Mankind has been faced with issues ranging from mild to severe which eventually destabilizes his or her existence. This called for approaches that will help these people to regain their initial state usually through counseling. As such varied scholars developed different theories on how the issue of counseling clients was to be approached. One such scholar was Carl Rodgers who developed the person-centered counseling theories also known as person-centered psychotherapy, Rogerian psychotherapy or client-centered therapy. The guiding principle of the approach is that clients are their own best authority over what they feel and they are indeed responsible and capable of attaining their own potential growth (Finke, 2002). The theory holds that in order to attain the potential to grow there are some specific conditions that allows one to grow positively. Roger developed this therapy back in 1930s with the aim of providing clients with a chance of developing a sense of self in which they can fully understand their attitudes, feelings, behaviors and the way they affect them in a negative way while making an ultimate decision to find their positive capabilities to deal with the issue at hand (Tudor & Worrall, 2006). Roger believed that in order for clients or patients to get viable solutions to their problems, there is need for therapists to nurture an environment where patients feel comfortable. This can be attained through the three core conditions, empathy, unconditional positive regards towards clients and congruence (Tudor & Worrall, 2006). The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate my understanding and knowledge of Person-centered theory, with reference to personality development and the therapeutic relationship by discussing its main concepts, I will also give personal examples on the three core conditions that is empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard, discuss how the person-centered approach enables clients to resolve their issues and concerns and to evaluate the effects of putting the person-centered approach into practice by examining its strengths and weaknesses. Person-centered theory, personality development and the therapeutic relationship Based on the words of Roger the father of person-centered therapy people have inside them various resources that will help them understand as well as change self-concepts, basic attitudes as well as self-directed behavior (Finke, 2002). To him the rouses can be tapped and be used to enhance the recovery of clients only if a conducive environment is presented to them. According to the therapy theory counselor lay more emphasis on the significance of the counseling relationship being capable of enhancing change. Instead of describing human beings as objects, Roger sought to use the term client who is full of resources and usually tend to gain actualization (Rogers, 1995). The concept of actualization tendency is believed by Roger, 1959 to be the motivational construct which help drive clients towards attaining their fullest potential, making them desire to grow from a simple to a more complex attaining higher level of maturity as well as greater level of functioning. To Roger the concept of actualization tendency is good and any man and woman should strive to attain leading such individuals to emulate the positive position of Humanistic psychology which hold hopefulness, positive and constructive view of those around us as well as a considerable ability to be self-determined. From such background Roger believed that individuals have the potential of becoming more ware, free, responsible, and life-affirming as well as trustworthy all of which are important factors in influencing positive goal setting and attainment (Tudor & Worrall, 2006). Roger also talked about self-concept in his theory. This idea is the manner in which individuals look at themselves concerning issues such as abilities, values, gals, characteristics among others. from the time an individual is born he or she acquires organized information about who they are which is an important approach in helping them not only understand who they are but also interact successfully with the environment and those around him or her (Merry, 1995). It has been noted that in while one grows from childhood to adulthood the self-concept is deemed to be more theoretical, multifaceted, as well as hierarchically organized into cognitive mental representation of self-schema. This usually dictates the processing of self-relevant information (Barrett-Lennard, 1998). There is also the concept of organismic self where Roger states that at the beginning an individual self-concept and organismic self are but one thing. However when the time comes where the later meets disapproval, the issue of rejection as well as negative thoughts and emotion the individual turns to be anxious and confused. At this time positive complements from those in our surrounding as well as positive regard is necessary in developing self. In return in order for one to maintain the positive regards from those around him or her, he only way for them is to fit in by adapting the self-concept (Tudor & Worrall, 2006. As noted previously the term organismic self interacts with self concept. It refers to a situation where an individual is at a state of himself as well as feeling who they are, what they do as well as the overall emotion of inner harmony. The concept refers to real self and Roger equated this to when a child cries, other examples include when an individual screams after stubbing their toes, when in moment of joy as well as laughter among others (Walker, 2001). Throughout life especially towards adulthood people start losing the concept of real self, this is attributed to external forces such as media, religious influences, peer pressure, law, and politics among others. it is thus the purpose of counseling restore individuals self back to organismic self since the external influences in most cases leads to stress, anxiety and confusion (Rogers, 1995). Rogers, 1959 also talked of condition of worth being a scenario that mankind after appreciating that positive evaluation from those around them enhance their survival they tend to engage in thinking, feeling as well as behaving in a manner that is deemed acceptable to others. Usually there is no problem provided it is in line with experiences as well as feeling of other individuals. This leads to the concept of introjects where mankind adopts values, beliefs as well as experiences from significant others and adopt them as if they are our own (Rogers, 1995). In the theory Roger brought the concept of locus of evaluation referring to how individuals view themselves as other might see them. Ideally this means that these individuals are able to trust their organismic valuation systems that are guts, feeling, beliefs, emotions and experiences hence self esteem. External locus of evaluation refers to a scenario where an individual listens to views of others instead of their own (Barrett-Lennard, 1998). Concerning therapeutic relationship, Roger identified a set of six conditions that enhances therapeutic growth on the side of clients. The first step is the establishment of a therapist-client psychological relationship or contact. It is at this stage that both the client and the therapists come together, initiate the desired contact where everyone’s perception and more so the emotion and feelings of the he clients are understood. At the same time the stage dictates that the relationship should be developed in a way that the client is encouraged to proceed with the entire process. Thus it is the responsibility of the therapist to ensure that the environment he creates at this stage is deemed to be good and accommodating to the client where the client can freely express his thoughts, feelings and emotions (McLeod, 2008). Condition number two is the client in-congruence or what Roger termed as vulnerability. This is a situation where the client’s inner feelings as well as sensations match; meaning that he or she is within the association where he feels deeply himself with his own experiences, emotions, and feelings based on his or her awareness (Rogers, 1995). It is as a result of the client’s states of anxiety, vulnerability and confusion that motivate them to be part of the relationship. When they are convinced that the relationship is mutual and respectful, hey they will stay with the aim of being helped to overcome their problems. Therapist congruence or genuineness is the third condition. Genuineness is “the state of being of the counselor when her outward responses to her client consistently match the inner feelings and sensations she has in relation to her client” (Mearns and Thorne, 1993). It means that “within the relationship he is freely and deeply himself, with his actual experience accurately represented by his awareness of himself. It is worth noting that when counselors are in a state of genuineness the issue of acting in line with the profession of counseling does not arise allowing them to draw from their own experiences that is through self-disclosure in order to enhance the relationship. There are a number of importances associated with genuineness from the counselor’s side. For instance it ensures that the client trusts the counselor since the later’s responses can be accepted to be open, honest as well as not manipulative. Similarly by being genuine, the counselor allows the client to understand that the counselor is expressing self-acceptance especially when the he or she (counselor) talks openly and freely about their weaknesses, vulnerability, mistakes among other. Lastly the concept of genuineness ensures that the client open up when talking to the counselor hence a smooth path towards recovery (McLeod, 2008). As suggested by Myers, 2000 another important condition according to Roger is therapist unconditional positive regard. This is where the therapist is supposed to fully accept the client without conditions, judgments, approval or disapproval. It is important for the client to be allowed to freely investigate all judgment and mind-set, whether encouraging or harmful, without the risk of being rejected or condemned. Significantly, clients should be free to examine as well as express what they feel without necessarily doing something specifically or meet a certain criteria or stand of behavior in order to impress or earn a positive regard from the counselor. When this is accomplished the client feels that self-regard or self-esteem is enhanced since he or she feels that he/she is aware of experiences in which their own perception about self-worth was negatively influenced by those in their surrounding or environment (Myers, 2000). The fifth condition is empathic understanding where the therapist is called upon to be show an empathic understanding of his or her client internal or self-references (Rogers, 1995). It is the responsibility of the therapist to use empathic responses that will show that he/she feels what it means to be in the client’s shoes. Usually the responses from the therapists should reflect the values, feelings, thoughts, attitude of the client engraved in their stories as well as the personal meaning ascribed to the same (Kensit, 2002). The main value of this condition is its ability to aid clients to believe the counselor’s unconditional love for them is genuine. When such perception is created, there are higher chances that the client will open up, share more and stay longer in the relationship making it possible for him/her to regain the initial state of organismic self. According to Rogers, 1961 the concept of client perception is another condition that should be fulfilled in order for the therapy to work. This is where the client views or perceives the minimal degree the unconditional as well as empathetic understandings. There are a number of ways that the therapists can show this (Kahn, 1999). For instance via active listening whereby the counselor listens to what the client is saying while inquiring for more information so that the client can bring out the emotion of the statements. The therapist later rephrases what the client has said; this helps in encouraging the client that the therapist is hearing him or her. Empathy, Congruence and Unconditional Positive Regard Roger suggested that there are three core conditions that help in providing an accommodating environment to clients’ growth as well as therapeutic change; these include unconditional positive regards, empathic understanding and congruence. Unconditional positive regard is where the therapist should accept the clients unconditionally as well as non-judgmentally. This allows clients to examine their feeling regardless of whether they are positive or negative without the fear of being rejected or laughed at (Kensit, 2002). The same principle encourages clients not to behave in a certain way in order to please the counselor. The second core condition empathic understanding helps in ensuring that the client’s view points are understood by the therapist from the client’s perspective. This later is taken by the client to mean that the therapist not only acknowledges that the feelings, thoughts and emotions he/she present is valuable but also he/she believes that the counselor is accepting him/her (Kahn, 1999). The concept of congruence calls for therapists to be genuine and authentic thereby not presenting an unfriendly professional pretense rather is present as well as open to clients. Usually hiding of knowledge is not accepted and the client does not have to guess about the reality of the counselor. Roger believed that these three core conditions are responsible in enabling the client to not only develop but also grow in their distinct ways (Merry, 1995). This is attained by strengthening as well as expanding their identities as well as becoming the real self hence being uninfluenced by external pressures. Similarly the clients are encouraged to be more intimate with their own thoughts, attitude meaning and opinions (Rogers, 1961). Example of unconditional positive regard In this example I will present personal experience with a teenage who is a drug addict. Client X: I know that engaging in drugs at whatever age is socially unacceptable and that is the reason I am being sidelined by those who do not take drugs. Counselor: Hmmmmm so you have been using drugs from a tender age huh..?. It is understandable when one feels sidelined by others because of using drugs. Client X: I started using hard drugs due to peer pressure and I was condemned for that by my parents. Counselor: So you were lured by those close to you to use drugs. It is fine to recall the manner in which you found yourself in using drugs. Despite the fact that your parents condemned you I am surprised that you are capable of talking of the whole issue. It is apparent from the conversation that my capabilities of accepting as well as not being judgmental on what client X said made him to feel accepted hence was in a position to openly express his feelings, thoughts and emotions. Example of empathy To illustrate an example where empathy was experience, I will present my conversation with Client Y who was a rape victim and was finding it very difficult to talk about it. Client Y: I was walking by myself, which even I know is stupid, but…that’s what it was. I made the mistake that everyone knows not to make, but everyone makes anyway. It’s just that fewer have dire consequences. A man grabbed me pulling me to a corner and had his way with me… I could not talk to anyone, I was raged and I burnt a lot of bridges. Counselor: I am picking up from your statement that prior to being sexually assaulted you were walking alone at night in the streets. You were aware that such an act was risky to your life. And along the way you wee grabbed by a man who raped you. Since then you have cut links with close friends and relatives. Client Y: It took me three good years before sharing what I went through with anybody….. even my mother. I thought giving myself a time span of 2 years will help me forget about the ordeal but I was wrong, three years down the line and the memories are still fresh in my mind. Counselor: Nodding and maintaining eye contacts with the client. It sounds to me that you felt that keeping to yourself for a certain period of time would have helped you forget everything; nonetheless you decided to share what transpired during the rape to your mother. From the conversation it is evident that I depicted empathic through reflection and clarification. My response prompted the client to give more information concerning the sexual assault she experienced three years ago. Example of congruence In order to exemplify how this core condition was experienced I decided to use what transpired between a female employee and me. The female was a breastfeeding mum who was living with her unemployed husband. On several occasion she was on the wrong side according to her supervisor for reporting to work late. I label her client Z. Client Z: There is this immediate supervisor who is always on my neck, reporting to our line manager that I always report to work late. My efforts to explain to him that I am supposed to breastfeed my baby before reporting to work as well as dealing with house chores seem on land on empty ears. Counselor: What am getting from your statement is that your line supervisor is upset with your tendency of reporting to work late and your efforts to let him know that you are a breastfeeding mum is not getting any consideration. Client Z: It feels so bad when no one especially your immediate supervisor fails to understand what is happening to their subordinates. Counselor: Client Z I would like you to bear in mind that you are not alone in your struggle with your line supervisor regarding the time to report to work. In my first job I found myself in a similar scenario where I was supposed to take care of my young siblings, prepare them for school drop them then report to work. More often than not I reported to work late prompting my supervisor to report me to the line manager. I feel our emotions and attitude but this is a common issue in the work place. From my response it is evident that it is empathic as well as non-judgmental and sharing my personal experience clearly indicates that I am real and not dominating the conversation. Effects of putting the person-centered approach into practice It is worth noting that after putting the approach into practice there are a number of strengths or advantages associated with it. Person-centered therapy improves the clients’ self-esteem. This can be attributed to the fact that the environment that is created by the therapists encourages the client to be intimate with his/her feeling, attitudes, emotions as well as thoughts and experiences (Kahn, 1999). While doing this they tend to understand who they are in a better manner. On the same note, the approach after building clients’ self-esteem, they later become more confident of themselves since they begin to trust their inner feelings as well as experiences as being valuable sources of information that will help them make rational decisions (Barrett-Lennard, 1998). The approach also has the capabilities of helping clients to learn from their mistakes, adapt a sense of defensiveness, guilt as well as insecurity. The interaction between self and external forces helps clients to open up, share their experiences and look at life from a new angle while developing comfortable relationship with significant others. Lastly research shows that individuals who have undergone this kind of therapy are capable of staying positive or healed for relatively longer period of time (Walker, 2001). One of the weaknesses of the approach is its inability to offer advice to clients when the need for the same is desired. Sometimes failure to give clients advice usually leaves them in the dark not knowing what is best for them. Conclusion From the review of the person-centered therapy it is evident that Roger envisions that a conducive environment is what will give clients the opportunity to rediscover their organismic self. The core value of congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy are the pillars of this theory of therapy. The aim of the therapy is to encourage clients to be more open and express their feelings, emotions hence being able to gain a state of maturity and successfully deal with stresses. The paper has provided three examples of how the three core conditions are used. Similarly the paper has succinctly covered the six conditions deemed necessary as well as sufficient for therapeutic change to be realized. Lastly I have evaluated the strengths and one weakness of person-centered therapy. References Barrett-Lennard, T. (1998) Carl Rogers’ helping System. Journey and Substance: Sage. Finke, J. (2002) Aspects of the actualizing tendency from humanistic psychology perspective. Person Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 1(2), p.28-40. Kahn, E. (1999) A Critique of Non-directivity in the Person-Centered Approach. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 39(4), pp.94-110. Kensit, D. (2002) Rogerian Theory: A Critique of the Effectiveness of Pure Client-Centered Therapy." Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 13(4), pp. 345-351. McLeod, S. (2008) Person Centered Therapy. [Online]. Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html [Accessed on 12 November 2012] Merry, T. (1995) Invitation to Person-Centered Psychology. London, Whurr. Myers, S. (2000) Empathic Listening: Reports on the Experience of Being Heard." Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 40(2), pp. 148-173. Rogers, C. (1961) On becoming a person: A therapist's view of psychotherapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Rogers, C. 1995. Client-Centered Therapy. Its current practice, implications and theory. London, Constable. Rogers, C.R. (1959) A theory of therapy, personality and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the Client Centered framework. In S. Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A Study of a Science. Study 1. Volume 3. Conceptual and Systematic Formulations of the Person and the Social Context. McGraw Hill: New York p. 184-256. Tudor, K. & Worrall, M. (2006) Person-Centered Therapy: A Clinical Philosophy. Hove, Routledge. Walker, T. (2001) Practical Applications of the Rogerian Perspective in Postmodern Psychotherapy. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 20(2), pp.41-57. Read More

Roger also talked about self-concept in his theory. This idea is the manner in which individuals look at themselves concerning issues such as abilities, values, gals, characteristics among others. from the time an individual is born he or she acquires organized information about who they are which is an important approach in helping them not only understand who they are but also interact successfully with the environment and those around him or her (Merry, 1995). It has been noted that in while one grows from childhood to adulthood the self-concept is deemed to be more theoretical, multifaceted, as well as hierarchically organized into cognitive mental representation of self-schema.

This usually dictates the processing of self-relevant information (Barrett-Lennard, 1998). There is also the concept of organismic self where Roger states that at the beginning an individual self-concept and organismic self are but one thing. However when the time comes where the later meets disapproval, the issue of rejection as well as negative thoughts and emotion the individual turns to be anxious and confused. At this time positive complements from those in our surrounding as well as positive regard is necessary in developing self.

In return in order for one to maintain the positive regards from those around him or her, he only way for them is to fit in by adapting the self-concept (Tudor & Worrall, 2006. As noted previously the term organismic self interacts with self concept. It refers to a situation where an individual is at a state of himself as well as feeling who they are, what they do as well as the overall emotion of inner harmony. The concept refers to real self and Roger equated this to when a child cries, other examples include when an individual screams after stubbing their toes, when in moment of joy as well as laughter among others (Walker, 2001).

Throughout life especially towards adulthood people start losing the concept of real self, this is attributed to external forces such as media, religious influences, peer pressure, law, and politics among others. it is thus the purpose of counseling restore individuals self back to organismic self since the external influences in most cases leads to stress, anxiety and confusion (Rogers, 1995). Rogers, 1959 also talked of condition of worth being a scenario that mankind after appreciating that positive evaluation from those around them enhance their survival they tend to engage in thinking, feeling as well as behaving in a manner that is deemed acceptable to others.

Usually there is no problem provided it is in line with experiences as well as feeling of other individuals. This leads to the concept of introjects where mankind adopts values, beliefs as well as experiences from significant others and adopt them as if they are our own (Rogers, 1995). In the theory Roger brought the concept of locus of evaluation referring to how individuals view themselves as other might see them. Ideally this means that these individuals are able to trust their organismic valuation systems that are guts, feeling, beliefs, emotions and experiences hence self esteem.

External locus of evaluation refers to a scenario where an individual listens to views of others instead of their own (Barrett-Lennard, 1998). Concerning therapeutic relationship, Roger identified a set of six conditions that enhances therapeutic growth on the side of clients. The first step is the establishment of a therapist-client psychological relationship or contact. It is at this stage that both the client and the therapists come together, initiate the desired contact where everyone’s perception and more so the emotion and feelings of the he clients are understood.

At the same time the stage dictates that the relationship should be developed in a way that the client is encouraged to proceed with the entire process. Thus it is the responsibility of the therapist to ensure that the environment he creates at this stage is deemed to be good and accommodating to the client where the client can freely express his thoughts, feelings and emotions (McLeod, 2008).

Read More