Learning and Being in Person-Centred Counselling (third edition)

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Person-centered therapy doesn’t use specific techniques like other therapeutic approaches. Instead, it relies on three core principles: unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence. There are a number of ways I can meet my experiences. I can make personal some of the meanings and integrate them into my view of the world. Or I can ignore them because they do not fit with how I see myself or the world. I may find the experience threatening if it is inconsistent with how I see myself in the world. The more experiences I find threatening, the more rigid my sense of self becomes, and the more tightly I cling to my viewpoint.

However, there were fewer severe adverse events with nonspecific supportive psychotherapy. [12][Level 1] Follow-up two years posttreatment found the benefits of the two treatments were comparable on multiple measures,includingthe number of asymptomatic weeks. [13][Level 1]Creativity: creative thinking and risk-taking are features of a person’s life. A person does not play safe all the time. This involves the ability to adjust and change and seek new experiences. When I disconnect from my own self, I will deny my awareness of my own experience, so it will be very difficult for me to make sense of the world and other people. This causes unease and tension (sometimes known as ‘incongruence’) . A person whose self-concept is incongruent with her or his real feelings and experiences will defend himself because the truth hurts. Self Actualization Increasing organismic trust – they trust their own judgment and their ability to choose behavior that is appropriate for each moment. They do not rely on existing codes and social norms but trust that as they are open to experiences they will be able to trust their own sense of right and wrong. Empathy is the ability to understand what the client is feeling. This refers to the therapist’s ability to understand sensitively and accurately [but not sympathetically] the client’s experience and feelings in the here and now.

Like a flower that will grow to its full potential if the conditions are right, but which is constrained by its environment, so people will flourish and reach their potential if their environment is good enough. You can adequately understand my behaviour only through understanding how I see myself and others in the world. My sense of self arises from my experiences and perceptions, especially from comparing myself with others, and from the opinions and judgements of others as I perceive them. My sense of self is fluid but includes consistent perceptions. I attach values to these perceptions.

Critics also argue that it may not allow for the challenging of unhelpful behaviors or attitudes, which can be useful in some therapeutic approaches. It is that the individual has within himself or herself vast resources for self-understanding, for altering his or her self-concept, attitudes and self-directed behavior – and that these resources can be tapped if only a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided” (1980, p.115-117). I usually behave in ways that are consistent with how I see myself. So if I believe that I have little value, I will behave as if this is true.

One such detractor is author Jeffrey Masson. He writes in his book Against Therapy (Untreed Reads 2012): Examples of unconditional positive regard in counseling involve the counselor maintaining a non-judgmental stance even when the client displays behaviors that are morally wrong or harmful to their health or well-being. In a small randomized controlled trial comparing various psychotherapeutic interventions of PTSD in a low-resource setting, all participants experienced symptom reduction regardless of the intervention. Importantly, nurses felt that supportive counseling was the most transferable to their respective work environments. [18][Level 2] Another pragmatic trial (n = 228) found that non-directive counseling provided by public health nurses is an efficacious treatment for post-partum depression. [22][Level 3] There are critical voices who are not convinced that counsellors can consistently display the core conditions in the therapy room. Two primary sources that influence our self-concept are childhood experiences and evaluation by others.The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field is, for the individual, ‘reality’. We see ourselves as the centre of our ‘reality’; that is, our ever- changing world around us. We experience ourselves as the centre of our world, and we can only ‘know’ our own perceptions. Central to Rogers’ personality theory is the notion of self or self-concept. This is “the organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself.” Mearns, D. (1999). Person-centred therapy with configurations of self. Counselling, 10(2), 125±130. Her colleagues described her plans as ‘ridiculous,’ and her parents, who are very proud that their daughter is a teacher, have told Joyce that they will not speak to her again if she does leave teaching to become a dancer. Joyce is beginning to feel sad and miserable. Rogers revolutionized the course of therapy. He took the, then, radical view that it might be more beneficial for the client to lead the therapy sessions rather than the therapist; as he says, ‘the client knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been buried’ (Rogers, 1961). Personality Development

Experience which, if assimilated, would involve a change in the organization of self, tends to be resisted through denial or distortion of symbolism” (Rogers, 1951). If the content or presentation of a course is inconsistent with preconceived information, the student will learn if he or she is open to varying concepts. Being open to consider concepts that vary from one's own is vital to learning. Therefore, gently encouraging open-mindedness is helpful in engaging the student in learning. Also, it is important, for this reason, that new information is relevant and related to existing experience. The 19 propositions are complex to read and understand, being written in 1950s’ philosophical language.

Origins of the Term (First Use of the Term)

Unconditional positive regard involves accepting and supporting the client without any conditions. Empathy requires the therapist to understand and share the feelings of the client. In adults with depression over the age of 50, one meta-analysis found non-directive counseling to be effective, with effects maintained for at least six months. However, non-directive counseling was less effective than CBT and problem-solving therapy. [10][Level 1]