HISTORY OF CLIENTCENTERED

COUNSELLING

CARL
ROGERS
Born

in 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois, a

suburb of Chicago.
He was the fourth of six children.
His parents (fundamentalist Christians)
discouraged from forming friendships
outside the family because of the bad
influence others might have on him.
When he was 12, his family moved to a
farm outside Chicago developed a
strong interest in science and reading.

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1919 enrolled University of Wisconsin,

studied agriculture
1922 attend the World Student Christian
Federation conference in Peking, China
exposed him to other cultures and religions
1924 graduate Wisconsin, enrolled New
Yorks Union Theological Seminary (2 years)
1928 (MA degree) and 1931 (Ph.D)
Columbia University Teachers College,
studied clinical and educational psychology

STAGES / PHASES OF
PERSON-CENTERED
DEVELOPMENTAL
Rogerss early professional years
THERAPY
STAGE

NONDIRECTIVE STAGE

Beginning
of
his
theoretical
development
Understanding the client &
communicating that understanding

CLIENT-CENTERED

More theoretical development of

personality and psychotherapeutic
change
Focus on the person rather than on
techniques

PERSON-CENTERED

Beyond individual psychotherapyinclude marriage counselling, group

therapy & political activism

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE
BEGINNING OF THE
CAREER

1ST position : in Child Study Department at Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Rochester, N.York

Diagnosing and treating delinquent and underprivileged
children who were referred by courts & social agencies
His early work influenced by psychoanalytic concepts
change, as he realised that it is the client who knows what
hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what
experiences have been buried
1939 wrote The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child
1940 move to Columbus in Clinical Psychology at Ohio
State University the successful book offered the rank full
professor
Entered the 2nd stage (nondirective) at Ohio State
University

NONDIRECTIVE
PSYCHOTHERAPY (1940
1950)
Emphasized the counsellors

creation of a permissive and

noninterventive climate
Main techniques acceptance
and clarification

CLIENT-CENTERED /
REFLECTIVE
PSYCHOTERAPY (1950

Began 1957)
with the publication of Client-Centered

Therapy : Its Current Practice, Implications, and

Theory (1951)
The counsellor / therapist mainly reflected the feelings
of the client and avoided threat in the relationship.
Through reflective therapy the client was able to
develop a greater degree of congruence between real
self-concept and ideal self-concept
Rogers more theoretically consistent in this stage,
than in the nondirective phase, as almost 96% of his
responses to clients were emphatic following
responses

PERSON-CENTERED /
EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY
(1957 1980)

Rogers published On Becoming a Person (1961) the

beginning of the person-centered stage went beyond

approaches to therapy to consider issues that affected all
individuals
Freedom to Learn (1969)
Carl Rogers on Personal Power (1977) concerned how
person-centered principles can be applied to people of
different cultures and to bring about political change
A Way of Being (1980) also about political change
Therapy focused on the clients experiencing and much
emphasis on the phenomenological view according to
their perceptions of reality
Counsellor must enter into the clients phenomenal field

INFLUENTIAL
PERSON-CENTERED
THERAPY

OTTO RANK
ADLER
EXISTENTIAL WRITERS MAY &
MARTIN BUBER
HUMANISTIC KURT GOLDSTEIN &
MASLOW

PERSON-CENTERED
THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

PSYCHOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT

Each person is aware, inner-directed, and

moving toward self-actualization

Self-actualization : is the most prevalent
and motivating drive of existence and
encompasses actions that influence the
total person
Children
develop
awareness
of
themselves need for positive regards
from those around them

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Positive regards : love, warmth, care, respect and

acceptance
: acceptance, is a deep and genuine caring for
the client as a person ; that is, prizing the
person just for being
Grow older manage own physical needs more
effectively & the need for positive regard from
others increases
Individuals perceptions of the positive regard they
received from others have a direct impact on their
own self regard

DEVELOPMENT AND
CONDITIONALITY
Conditional

positive regard develop

defenses
(rationalization,
fantasy,
projection, paranoid thinking)
: negative regard anxiety
Incongruence
between
an
individuals
experiences and self concept disorganised
behavior
Rogers
believe
that
there
must
be
unconditional positive regard from some
others so that a persons self regard can be
increased

SELF REGARD AND

RELATIONSHIP
Congruence the process of the therapist in

accurately experiencing and being aware of the

communication of another person
Relationship improve when the person being
listened feel understood, emphatically listened
to, not judged
This relationship can be called congruent : the
therapist
is
able
to
understand
and
communicate the psychological experience of
the other, being in tune with the other person
Incongruent : facial expression / voice tone does
not match ones word

 To

THE FULLY
FUNCTIONING
PERSON
become fully functioning, individuals

must
meet their need for positive regard from others &
have positive regard for themselves can then
experience an optimal level of psychological
functioning
A fully functioning person is not defensive but
open to new experiences without controlling them
Individuals experience an inner freedom to make
decisions and to be responsible for their own lives
become aware of social responsibilities and the
need for fully congruent relationships with others

PERSON-CENTERED
THEORY OF
PSYCHOTHERAPY

GOAL
S

Goals of therapy come from the client concern

the client as a person, not his / her problem

Therapist rather helps develop a therapeutic
atmosphere increase positive self regard
client become more fully functioning
Fully functioning person develops : * a greater acceptance of self and others
* become a better decision maker in the
here & now
* more open to experience
* more trusting of self-perception
* engaged in self-exploration and evaluation

 Results of person centered counselling : -

*
*
*
*

More realistic in their self-perceptions

More confident and self directing
More positively valued by themselves
Less likely to repress aspects of their
experiences
* More mature, socialized & adaptive in their
behavior
* Less upset by stress & quicker to recover
from it
* More like the healthy integrated well
functioning person in their personality
structures

ASSESSMENT
Limited use of psychological tests

usually done only at

the request of the client

Test information needs to fit within the context of the
client-counsellor relationship
Q Sort Technique
Not use diagnosis because diagnosis is philosophically
incompatible with the objectives of the approach
diagnosis categorizes people and implies that each person
is not unique. It also puts the counselor in charge : once
diagnosis is made, a treatment plan follows
Person-centered counseling places a minimum emphasis
on formal techniques and a maximum focus on the
therapeutic relationship

THE NECESSARY AND

SUFFICIENT
CONDITIONS FOR
CLIENT CHANGE
PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTACT

1.
2. INCONGRUENCE
3. CONGRUENCE AND GENUINENESS
4. UNCONDITIONAL POSITVE REGARD

OR ACCEPTANCE
5. EMPHATY
6. PERCEPTION OF EMPHATY AND
ACCEPTANCE

PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTACT

A relationship between 2 people

Capable having some impact

each

other
presence therapist not just being in
the same room with the client but also
bringing forth her abilities to attend to
and be engaged by the client

INCONGRUENCE
(client)
Client

must be in state of
psychological
vulnerability
:
fearful, anxious or otherwise
distressed

Incongruence

between
the
persons perception of himself
and his actual experience

CONGRUENCE
AND GENUINENESS
(counselor/therapist)
Therapist must be genuinely be herself
Therapist is his actual self in his encounter with the

client
Therapist has access to her feelings and makes
them available, where appropriate, to further the
therapeutic relationship
Genuinely feels for the client, aware of the clients
feelings, expresses her desire to be there for the
client
Congruence includes openness to experiencing the
client, being fully aware, not distorting ones
experience, and being able to be emphatic and to
offer unconditional positive regard to the client

UNCONDITIONAL
POSITVE REGARD OR
ACCEPTANCE
The

therapist
must
have
no
conditions of acceptance but must
accept and appropriate the client
as is
Not agreement with the client but
rather refers to caring for the
person as a separate individual
Makes no judgment of the persons
positive or negative qualities

EMPATHY
Enter

anothers world without being

influenced by ones own views and values

Therapists/counselors must have sufficient

separateness so that they do not get lost

in the perceptual world of the other person

Help the person to focus on this useful

type of referent, to experience the

meaning more fully and to move forward in
the experiencing

PERCEPTION OF
EMPATHY AND
ACCEPTANCE
The

client perceive someway

that she is being understood
and accepted

There

is at least a minimal
degree of communication to the
client
of
the
counselors
understanding
and
unconditional positive regard

THE CLIENTS
EXPERIENCING IN THERAP
The

therapeutic relationship offers client an

opportunity to express the fears, anxieties, guilt,
anger, or shame that they have not been able to
accept within themselves
When the 6 necessary and sufficient conditions
are met, they will better able to accept
themselves
and
others
and
to
express
themselves creatively
In the process of therapy, they will experience
themselves in new ways by taking responsibility
for themselves and their process of selfexploration, leading to a deeper understanding of
self and to positive change

EXPERIENCING
RESPONSIBILITY

Client will learn that they

are
responsible
for
themselves both in the
therapeutic
relationship,
and more broadly

EXPERIENCING THE
THERAPIST
Clients

comes to appreciate
the empathy and unconditional
positive regard of the therapist

Experience of being cared for

and being fully accepted

EXPERIENCING THE
PROCESS OF
EXPLORATION
Client

can explore his/her fearful or

anxiety producing experiences, through
the therapist emphatic
By exploring feelings that are deeply felt
rather than feelings that should be
sensed, the client can experience a feeling
of total honesty and self-awareness
Therapist help client clarify her sense of
exploration through his emphatic response

EXPERIENCING THE
SELF
Self exploration realize that the

deepest layers of personality are

forward moving and realistic
deal with their angry and hostile
feelings gradually encounter
positive
feelings
about
themselves and others

Exploring who they really are

EXPERIENCE CHANGE

Client may experience their

own change from the deep

personal involvement (in the
relationship & the intense
search for an inner self)

THE PROCESS OF
PERSON CENTERED
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Real Self
self

Ideal

Locus of
Actualized
Evaluation
* Being Closed
* Not open to
experience
* Not self aware

Self

* Openness to experience
* Self awareness
* Positive self regard

move towards

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Not

likely
to
express
feelings
or
take
responsibility

express their feelings with

decreasing fear about doing so

able to
experience and readily communicate feelings
Understand how they have contributed to their
own problems and may not blame others for
them

Real self : what the person is

Ideal self : what the person is striving to become
Self-actualization : is the most prevalent and
motivating drive of existence and encompasses
actions that influence the total person

PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISODER

PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISORDER

C.Rogers believed that his six

core conditions for change applied
to all psychological disorder.

Person-Centered Therapists use

a different approach with each
client, reflecting the uniqueness of
the clients humanness.

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I) Depression

C.Rogers often helped his client

become aware of strong feelings that
were below surface awareness.

He also empathic with the inner

strength within individual and helped
clients takes responsibility for their
own decisions and judgments.

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II) Grief and Loss

Person-Centered Therapists
do not diagnose or suggest,
they empathize with the
individual experiencing grief.

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III) Borderline Disorder

Swildens (1990) sees the selfconcept of a person with a borderline

disorder as lacking cohesion,
continuity and adequate defense,
and applies the person-centered
approach to three phases of therapy,
and is proceed slowly and carefully.

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1)

First phase
The therapist tries to develop trust with
the client and to prevent acting out.
Understanding
acting-out
behavior,
important than getting
involved in
resulting conflicts.
Empathy is directed at understanding the
clients fears, without trying to describe or
explain it.

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1)

Second phase
The therapist tries to understand the unsafe
situation that the clients find themselves in and
works with clients in finding ways to survive
stress.

2)

Third phase

Move on helping clients to accept their own over

sensitivity and lack of stability, and to understand
their own feelings of being vulnerable and
defenseless.

BRIEF THERAPY,
RESEARCH, GENDER
& MULTICULTURAL
ISSUES, AND
GROUP
COUNSELING

BRIEF THERAPY

In general, PersonCentered Therapists

do not use a brief
therapy model.

RESEARCH

C.Rogers was a pioneer in therapy research.

In general, there have been two types of
research on Person-Centered Therapy:
1) Test of importance of the core
conditions
(genuineness, acceptance and
empathy) for therapeutic change.
2) Studies comparing the effectiveness of
Person-Centered Therapy with other
theories.

GENDER
ISSUES

The therapists values and empathic with

clients of the other sex, may affect the
therapist in helping client.
For homosexual cases, value conflicts may
arise as societies often have prejudices
against homosexuality.
For this subject, C. Rogers is more focusing
on
the
quality
of
the
intimacy
of
relationships rather than the nature of the
sexual relationship.

MULTICULTURAL
ISSUES

There are some similarities between personcentered and Eastern thought, like:
1) Individuals need to be receptive to their
own being Taoist Philosophy
2) Emphasizes openness to other experience
Buddhist psychology

The less directive person-centered approach may be

difficult to apply in cultures that focus on familial
and social decision making, and where individuals
learn to respect and take direction from authority.

GROUP COUNSELING

C. Rogers believed deeply in the power of individuals

to help each other grow through the group process.

1)

The advantage of person-centered group counseling

When the core conditions were met in the group,

trust would develop.
2) As trust developed, group members would become
more likely to expose their inner selves.
3) Group members were able to express and
experience more positive feelings.
4) This often resulted in behavior change, less affectation
or fewer mannerisms, new insights into problems,
and more effective ways dealing with others.

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1) The disadvantage of person-centered

group counseling

C. Rogers was concerned that positive

changes might not last long.

The positive and warm relationships

within the group might threaten intimate
relationships outside the group.

For some individual, sharing deep

feelings and thoughts could lead to
feeling vulnerable.

SUMMARY OF
"A BEAUTIFUL MIND

John Nash is a mathematical genius; he

was awarded the 1994 Noble Prize in
Economic Science.
But in his early life, he has a painful and
harrowing journey of self-discovery. He
was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Slowly over many years, J. Nash
triumphed over tragedy and recovered,
and received the Noble Prize in his late
life.

APPLICATION
CONCEPT OF
PERSON-CENTERED
THERAPY TO THE
MAIN CHARACTER
IN
"A BEAUTIFUL
MIND"

PSYCHOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT
From the movie, we know that John
Nash couldn't communicate well with
others;
he
has
incongruence
between his experience and selfconcept. But like other normal
people, John Nash still need to being
loved by others, being emotionally
and/or physically touched, and being
valued or cared for.

Continue

J. Nash was not getting around with friends; he could not feel the
warmth between friends. He tried to make friends with others but failed. He
felt unpleasantness in his university life.

He created a roommate called Charles in his imagination, someone who
can speak to and share his feelings, and became his good friend and cared
for him.

He tried hard to prove himself and be recognized by others. When his
lost the game to his friend and proposal was rejected, he felt very
depressed.

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Charles, the unreal roommate always

consoles him and encourages him when he
was
frustrated.
From
Charles's
encouragement, John went back to his
research and done his research in the best
way.

John got his self-worth from joining the

"top secret" job. He felt he was a "very
important person" and has a high contribution
to his country. By meeting the needs of others
and himself, he experienced his satisfaction.

SELF-REGARD AND
RELATIONSHIPS
The perception of the positive regard has
given John a direct impact on his self-regard.

He tried hard to get approval from

Prof. Einstein for his proposal. When his work
was accepted, he was so happy and proud.

When John was sick, he was

encouraged by his wife to get the medicine
help. Being loved and trusted by his wife,
John felt a sense of positive regard.

Continue

John and his wife Alicia thought that

fitting in as part of the community, is good for
him. His friend, Martin, trusted and accepted
him when he went back to Princeton University.
This gave him a good start for returning as a
normal people.
When a student approached to John, he
started to get back his confident in academic as
well as in life. His relationships with family,
friends, colleagues and students became better
after he got back his confidence.

EXPERIENCING THE
SELF
John has gradually encounter positive feelings about
himself and others.

He has a good relationship with hid therapist, and

knows what had happened to him. He explained the
reason why he nearly kills his baby; he didn't take the
medicine because this could affect his thinking and
reaction. He wants to be responsible to his family.

He realized that the three friends in his imagination

were not real; because the little girl was never grow up.
In the rest of his life, he just ignored their appearance.

When he was in the restaurant with Thomas King, he

told Thomas he was crazy before, he can faced the reality.

THE FULLY
FUNCTIONING
PERSON
To become fully functioning, John Nash must meet his

need for positive regard from others and have positive

regard for himself.

After having treatment, he tried to open himself to

new experiences, getting around with people, go back
to university, become a good lecturer, and handle new
and old situations creatively.

He experienced an inner freedom and made

decisions to be responsible for his lives, to become a
good husband, good father and a good lecturer.

In his later life, he reached his high peek in life, by

getting respect from others and the Noble Prize.

CONCLUSION

The Person-Centered Approach takes clients

as their own best authorities. The focus of
person-centered therapy is always on the
clients own feelings and thoughts, not on
those of the therapist and certainly not on
diagnosis or categorization. The personcentered therapist makes every attempt to
foster an environment in which clients can
encounter themselves and become more
intimate with their own thoughts, feelings
and meanings.

APPLICATION CONCEPT OF PERSONCENTERED THERAPY TO THE MAIN

CHARACTER IN
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Actualizing tendency Actualizing is the
inherent tendency of the person to develop in
ways that serve to maintain or promote growth
Self-actualization tendency is the tendency
of the person toward actualization in that part of
the person that is represented in the self. In a
positive sense it is the tendency of the person to
move toward achieving full potential.

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John
always
wanted
to
become
somebody. He tried hard to achieve in his
study, his academic and his life.
The first day in university, he already
want to become an useful person, a great
mathematician. He likes to study things no
matter where he was, and related all to
mathematic, this was his tendency to become
a mathematician.
His geniuses has make him became an
important person. Although he was sick, he
still can overcome his problem, be a good
lecturer, a mathematics genius and the Noble

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Congruence - The person is congruent when

there is no dissonance among his or her
acting,
thinking,
and
feeling
states.
Experiences are wholly integrated into the
self-concept.

After having treatment, John has:

- realized that the three friends in his imagination
were not real; because the little girl was never grow up.
In the rest of his life, he just ignored their appearance.
(acting)
- always make sure that people around him is real
and not his imagination. (thinking)
- although the three unreal person still appeared,
he didnt get angry or have any feelings about them.
(feeling)

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Empathic understanding when a person knows

not only at a cognitive level, but also at a deeper
affective level, how it feels to be another person
while, at the same time, retaining ones own
autonomy, then he or she has achieved empathic
understanding. One perceives as if one were the
other person but without ever losing the as if
condition.

Alicia and Dr. Rosen tried to help John understand

that the three friends in his imagination were not real.
They gave their empathic understanding to John and
understand that why John didnt want to get treatment
in hospital.
John finally knew that the three unreal friends was
only his imagination, he told himself to ignore them.

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Experience (noun) Experience is all cognitive

and affective events within the person that are
available or potentially available to awareness.
Experience (verb) Experience is the receiving
within the person the impact of all the sensory or
physiological events happening at the present
moment.

John has all his experiences no matter is

good or bad, sweet or bitter, aware or
unaware. All this experiences has gave him
the impact to live and achieved his goals.

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Genuineness when a person is being genuine,

there is no difference between the real and the
perceived self; the person is transparent in that
there are no facades of affect or behavior.

John knew what had happened to him, he was

sick but has recovered. He knew he was ready to go
back to university (perceived self) and ask Martins
permission to go back for study.
When a student approached to John, he can talk
to him like once he was a lecturer before. (real self)
When he was in the restaurant with Thomas King,
he told Thomas he was crazy before, he can faced the
reality.

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Organismic valuing process In the organismic

valuing process, the organisms (persons) values
are never fixed or rigid. Experiences are
accurately perceived, constantly updated, and
valued in terms of the satisfaction experienced by
the person. The actualizing tendency is the
criterion.

From his experiences (the schizophrenia he has),

encouragement (from his wife) and treatment (from
Dr. Rosen), finally John had achieved his real self.
He is brave (against his illness), confident (in his
career), responsible (to his family) and ignore people
criticism and the three unreal friends.
All this process make him realised and accepted
himself, put all the negative things aside and

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Positive regard positive regard is the perception of the selfexperience of another person that makes a positive difference
in that the individual feels warmth, liking, respect, and
acceptance towards the other person.

John had created a roommate called Charles in his

imagination, someone who can speak to and share his
feelings, and became his good friend and cared for him.
Charles always consoles him and encourages him
when he was frustrated. From Charles's
encouragement, John went back to his research and
done his research in the best way.
He told by other people that he was a Code
Breaking Genius, he felt proud and thought that he
was a very important person in his country.
His wife and his therapist had given him a lot of
support when he was sick, this has gave him a good

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Positive self-regard is a positive attitude towards

the self that is not dependent on the perceptions of
significant others.

John always has initiative to work hard in

his study, his academic and his life.
When he realized that the three people in
his imagination were not real, he ignored them.
He told his therapist and his wife he want to
get treatment.
When John went back to university to
study and teaching, everybody laughed at him
and teased him, but he ignored them and never
gave up his university life. He tried hard to

Continue

Self-concept is a persons total internal view of self in

relation to experiences of being and functioning within the
environment and the values that are attached to such a view.

John has low self-concept about his social life. He

thought that no body likes him.
He told Charles and Patcher, that others did not
like him, and he had no family, and best friend.
When he was a lecturer, he also told his friends
that he didnt want to go to class, he felt that students
will not think of him.
He see himself as a important person and has high
contribution for his country.
After treatment, he had confident and believed
that he can overcome his problem.
In later life, he still see himself as a genius, a good
lecturer, husband and father. He reached his high peek

Continue

Self-experience is any event in the

individuals perceptual field which is seen as
relating to self, me, or I.

Self-experience from Johns perceptual:

As a code breaking genius and the top secret
job. He tried to break the code, send the codes in
envelope to Patcher. People follow him, and kill
him. Although all this only his imagination, but
John felt that it was real, and really his experiences
His three friends - Patcher, Charles and the
little girl. They talk to him, stay with him and
became his good friends.
He was sick and having schizophrenia. He
experienced the life he has.

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Unconditional positive regard is the

perception of the individuals self-experiences of
another person without discrimination as to
greater or lesser worthiness of that person. Is is
characterized by complete acceptance of the
other person.

When John was sick, he was

encouraged by his wife to get the medicine
help. Being loved and trusted by his wife,
John felt a sense of positive regard.
As a therapist, Dr. Rosen has accepted
John and his imagination without any
condition and discrimination.

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Unconditional self-regard Unconditional

self-regard is the perception of the self in such
a way that no self-experience can be
discriminated as more or less worthy of
positive regard than any other.

In his later life, John had accepted

his life, he knew he was sick before. He
tried to open himself to new experiences,
getting around with people, go back to
university, become a good lecturer.