THE Conditions: Core Relational Practice
THE Conditions: Core Relational Practice
THE Conditions: Core Relational Practice
Carl Rogers was one of the pioneers of person-centred or humanistic therapy in the
1940s. Whilst he was instrumental in laying the foundations and theory for the practice
of counselling by non-medical practitioners, his approach, which recognised an inbuilt
tendency of humans toward ‘self-actualisation’, is incredibly effective for life coaches to
adopt for their practice. Life coaching should emulate Rogers’ positive view of human
psychology by accepting a client’s innate desire to grow and engage in a meaningful self-
exploration of feelings, beliefs and behaviour and to facilitate a growth process which
empowers them to face current and future challenges. [1]
“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 behaviour - and that these
resources can be tapped if only a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can
be provided” Carl Rogers [2]
Rogers believed that to create the conditions for change for the client, a life coach should
be warm, genuine and understanding. Above any techniques, the humanist approach to life
coaching prizes the relationship between the client and coach. It is considered an equal
partnership, in which the coach is aiding the client to find their solutions and is, therefore,
empowering for the client. [3]
Given the importance of this relationship, Rogers identified three core conditions that would
enable this relationship to work in a life coaching setting:
1. CONGRUENCE OR GENUINENESS
Congruence is the primary attribute of the effective life coach. The congruence refers to the
balance between their inner experience and outward expression. By being congruent, these
two states match and therefore the coach is authentic: There is no façade for the presented
to the client. This allows the building of trust in the relationship, while also serving as a model
for the client. The coach is setting an example of being themselves, expressing their thoughts
and feelings honestly and without wearing masks.
For the client to grow and realise their potential, Rogers believed that it is vital that they
are valued as themselves. This entails acceptance of the client by the therapist, without
judgement. Even more than that it requires that the coach genuinely cares about the client,
and even when they might disapprove of an action of a client, they still maintain a positive
attitude to the client.
3. EMPATHY
The ability of the coach to accurately understand the feelings and experiences of the client
in a sensitive way. Rogers believed that we have a tendency to resist change, but through
working to understand life from another person’s perspective, we invite change in ourselves.
Rogers described it, “to sense the client’s private world as if it were your own, but without
ever losing the “as if” quality-this is empathy, and this seems essential.” [4] Rogers goes on to
add list the benefits of applying empathy as observed through the research of Fiedler [5]:
THE CORE CONDITIONS RELATIONAL PRACTICE
•The
• coach is well able to understand the client’s feelings.
•The
• coach is never in any doubt about what the client means.
•The
• coach’s remarks fit in just right with the client’s mood and content.
•The
• coach’s tone of voice conveys the complete ability to share the client’s feelings.
If the coach can genuinely step outside of their own limiting beliefs and prejudices, see life
through client’s eyes and ‘walk in their shoes’, then they allow the possibility that both client
and coach can ‘truly blossom and grow in that climate’.
References:
1. Pierce, Molly (20 Feb 2016). 3 Core Conditions for Therapeutic Change. Retrieved from: http://
trueselfcounseling.com
2. Rogers, C. (1986). Carl Rogers on the Development of the Person-Centered Approach. Person-centred Review,
1(3), 257-259.
3. McLeod, Saul (2008 rev 2015). Person Centred Therapy. Retrieved from: www.simplypsychology.org
4. Rogers, C. (1957). The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Therapeutic Personality Change. Journal of
Consulting Psychology, Vol. 21
5. Fiedler, F. E. (1950) A comparison of therapeutic relationships in psychoanalytic, non-directive and Adlerian
therapy. J. consult. Psychol. 14, 436-445.
6. Watson, J. C. (2002). Re-visioning empathy. In D. J. Cain (Ed.), Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook
of research and practice (pp. 445-471). American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.