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10 - Client Centered Therapy

Carl Rogers was an influential American psychologist who developed client-centered therapy. He was born in 1902 and published several influential works on his theory and approach. Rogers believed that people have an innate tendency toward self-actualization and psychological growth. The core conditions for effective therapy are empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence between the therapist's internal experiences and communications. Client-centered therapy aims to provide a supportive relationship to facilitate the client's psychological growth and self-understanding.

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176 views40 pages

10 - Client Centered Therapy

Carl Rogers was an influential American psychologist who developed client-centered therapy. He was born in 1902 and published several influential works on his theory and approach. Rogers believed that people have an innate tendency toward self-actualization and psychological growth. The core conditions for effective therapy are empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence between the therapist's internal experiences and communications. Client-centered therapy aims to provide a supportive relationship to facilitate the client's psychological growth and self-understanding.

Uploaded by

emaanbilal000
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CARL ROGERS:

CLIENT-CENTERED
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Lecture By: Amna Samar
BIOGRAPHY (1902 – 1987)
BIOGRAPHY (1902 – 1987)
Born on January 8, 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois.

Family emphasized strong work ethic, responsibility, and the


fundamentals of religion.

Graduated in 1924 from University of Wisconsin.

Started at the Union Theological Seminary then transferred to


Teacher’s College, Columbia University.

Worked for 12 years at a Child-Guidance Center.

In 1939, Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child was


published.

Offered professorship at Ohio State University .


BIOGRAPHY (1902 – 1987)
• December 11, 1940 Rogers presented “Some Newer
Concepts in Psychotherapy” at the University of Minnesota
(viewed by most as the birth of Client-Centered Therapy).

• In 1942, Counseling and Psychotherapy published.

• During WWII served as Director of Counseling Services for


the US Organizations.
• Served, for 12 years, as head of University of Chicago
Counseling Center.

• In 1957, Rogers published classic paper on “Necessary and


Sufficient Conditions” for therapy.

• Carl Rogers died on February 4, 1987.


THE ACTUALIZING TENDENCY

• The Organismic Valuing Process


• The Fully Functioning Person
• Subjective Experience, Values, and Science
ACTUALIZING TENDENCY

Definition: the force for growth and development that is innate in


all organisms

Examples: • a plant’s innate tendency to grow (even


in poor soil)
• a person’s tendency toward self-
actualization
ORGANISMIC VALUING
PROCESS

Definition: inner sense within a person, which


guides him or her in the directions of
growth and health

Examples: the inner vague feeling that choosing a


certain career, or a certain love partner,
would be wrong for you, even if
everyone else approves of that choice
Openness to Existential
experience living

THE FULLY
FUNCTIONING
PERSON
Creativity
Experiential
freedom
Organismic
trusting
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE, VALUES, AND
SCIENCE

• Spirituality, as well as subjectivity, are consistent with


Rogers’s theory, which does not aspire to be value-
free.
THE SELF

• ideal self – real self discrepancy


• incongruence
Development

CONDITIONS OF WORTH:
THE EXPECTATIONS THAT A
PERSON MUST LIVE UP TO
BEFORE RECEIVING RESPECT
AND LOVE
UNCONDITIONAL
POSITIVE REGARD

Definition: accepting and valuing a person without


requiring particular behaviors as a
prerequisite

Examples: • Being accepted and loved even if


your grades are low, your weight is
wrong, and your attitude is
questionable
DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVITY

Statements typical of parents of preschool children who later


became creative:

• “I respect my child’s opinions and encourage him to express them.”


• “I encourage my child to be curious, to explore and question things.”
And the parents disagreed with these statements:
• “I do not allow my child to get angry with me.”
• “I feel my child is a bit of a disappointment to me.”
ROGERS’ CORE CONDITIONS FOR THE
THERAPEUTIC ENVIRONMENT (THERAPIST)

Empathy
T
R
U
S
T
Unconditional
Congruence
Positive Regard
ROGERS’ CORE CONDITIONS FOR
THE THERAPEUTIC
ENVIRONMENT (CLIENT)
Self-concept
T
R
U
S
T
Locus-of-
Experiencing
Evaluation
ROGERS’ THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
SUMMARIZED
• Behavior is best understood through the individual’s
reality (perception of experiences)
• Personal growth occurs through decreased
defensiveness
• Self actualization is the organism’s one, basic tendency
• Experiences inconsistent with self concept are threats
leading to increased rigidity
• Therapy allows the individual to accept and integrate
all of their experiences
BOTTOM LINE:

Congruence = Psychological
Adjustment
Lack of Congruence = Psychological
Maladjustment
CONGRUENCE VS.
INCONGRUENCE
APPLICATIONS

 Humanistic Education
 Marriage and Relationships
 Social Welfare Programs
 Business
 Political Conflict, War, and Peace
 GROUP THERAPY
 RESEARCH
CRITICISMS OF ROGERS’S
THEORY

• Client-centered therapy is no more effective than other therapies

• Is the theory overly optimistic about human nature, ignoring evil?


THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES IN
CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY
SELECTION CRITERIA

• Personality should be flexible. It does not work with rigid and


authoritarian clients.
• Reasonable judgment to life. It should be free from delusional
flavors.
• Anxiety persons who are prepare to take emotional risk.
• They want to trust their own therapist.
• Client should be ready for desirable change.
• Client should be prepared to share responsibility.
• He/ she should be willing to get in touch with his or her
feelings however difficult the feelings may be.
QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE
THERAPIST

• Trust worthy
• Dependable
• Detached but available
• Therapist can judge his own feelings also
• Genuine
• Empathy
• Unconditional positive regard
• Competent
• Professional excellence
• Thorough knowledge of therapies
• Tone should be soft
• No sentence is given as assumption.
• Do not express anything by face. He/she should be neutral
• Non judgmental attitude
• No racial discrimination
THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP

Deals: Emotional “problems in living”


in relationship in which therapy
experiencing was denied, defined or
discounted by others.
BASIC SKILLS

1. Empathy
2. Congruence
3. Acceptance

• Other then empathy, congruence, acceptance…


• Consistency
• Boundary
• Awareness
• Interpersonal Sensitivity
WHAT IF THERAPIST IS
INCONGRUENT?

• The client is likely to become


confused

• Lack confidence in the counselling


relationship as a safe place within
which he or she might explore painful
or shameful experiences.
PRESENCE

• According to Mearns Presence means,

“at my best”

“my” means “therapist”!


THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS

“Greater openness to experience.”

Rogers characterized the direction of therapeutic growth as including


:

• Increasing awareness of denied experience,

• Movement from perceiving the world in generalizations to being


able to see things in a more differentiated manner and

• Greater reliance on personal experience as a source of values and


standards.
HOW DID CARL ROGERS DO
THERAPY?

• According to Brink and Farber Rogers made some responses. Among which
some are as follows:

 Providing orientation:
Rogers tended to start sessions by giving himself and the client an
opportunity to orient themselves to the task

 Affirming attention:
He frequently let his client know that he was present and listening, by
leaning towards the client, saying ‘m-hm, m-hm’ or nodding
affirmatively

 Checking understanding:
Often Rogers would check whether he had correctly understood the
meaning of what the client was saying
 Restating:
Sometimes Rogers’ words seemed directly to mirror what the client has said. On
other occasions, a restatement would take the form of a short statement that
clarified the core of what the client was expressing.

 Acknowledging client’s unstated feelings:


This response involved making reference to feelings that were expressed in
either nonverbal behavior or voice quality, but were not explicitly
verbalized by the client.

 Turning pleas for help back to the client


When a client asked for guidance or answers. Rogers would often turn the request
back to the person
 Accepting correction:
When a client indicated that one of Roger’s responses was not
accurate, he would accept the correction, try again to get it
right and then move on.
GOALS OF THERAPY

1. Establish relationship with client through rapport


building and catharsis because it helps client to face
anxiety and confusion which further helps in growth
development. This will be challenged.
2. The goal is also to see, feel and experience the world as
the client do.
3. Maintain aloof stance that is do not get emotional with
client and keeps scientific objective.
4. To create insight.
CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION
CASE 1

• Maria, a 33-year-old woman, seeks therapy because she


feels lost and struggles with forming authentic connections.
She describes herself as a people-pleaser, often sacrificing
her own needs to meet others' expectations. Maria is
uncertain about her career path and lacks a strong sense of
self-identity. She fears rejection and avoids expressing her
true thoughts and feelings in relationships.
CONCEPTUALIZATION

• Maria's difficulty in forming authentic connections and her


lack of a clear self-identity may be rooted in early
experiences of conditional love and acceptance. Growing
up, she might have learned that meeting others'
expectations was the key to receiving love and approval. In
therapy, the focus would be on exploring Maria's internal
conflicts, fears of rejection, and the impact of people-
pleasing behaviors on her sense of self. The goal is to
facilitate a process of self-exploration, helping Maria
reconnect with her authentic desires and build more
genuine relationships.
CASE 2

• James, an 18-year-old college student, is experiencing high


levels of anxiety related to academic performance. He is a
perfectionist and fears failure, often avoiding challenging
tasks to protect his self-esteem. James finds it difficult to
ask for help and is overwhelmed by the pressure to meet his
own and his parents' expectations.
CONCEPTUALIZATION

• James's high levels of anxiety and perfectionism in


academics may stem from a deep-seated fear of failure and
a desire for external validation. It's possible that early
experiences or societal pressures contributed to the
development of these perfectionistic tendencies. In therapy,
the focus would be on creating a space where James feels
safe to explore the origins of his fears and expectations.
Through empathetic listening, the therapist aims to assist
James in developing a more self-compassionate
perspective, allowing him to approach academic challenges
with a healthier mindset.
CASE 3

• David, a 45-year-old man, is grieving the recent loss of his


spouse. He feels overwhelmed by sadness, guilt, and
loneliness. David struggles to express his emotions and
often avoids discussing his grief with friends and family.
He is uncertain about how to navigate this profound loss
and is hesitant to reach out for support.
THANK YOU! 

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