 Person-centered
therapy, originally called client-centered
therapy, is perhaps the best-known form of
humanistic therapy. American psychologist Carl
Rogers developed this type of therapy in the
1940s and 1950s. Rogers believed that people,
like other living organisms, are driven by an
innate tendency to maintain and enhance
themselves, which in turn moves them toward
growth, maturity, and life enrichment. Within
each person, Rogers believed, is the capacity for
self-understanding and constructive change.
Person-centered
therapy emphasizes understanding and caring
rather than diagnosis, advice, and persuasion.
Rogers strongly believed that the quality of the
therapist-client relationship influences the
success of therapy. He felt that effective
therapists must be genuine, accepting, and
empathic. A genuine therapist expresses true
interest in the client and is open and honest. An
accepting therapist cares for the client
unconditionally, even if the therapist does not
always agree with him or her. An empathic
therapist demonstrates a deep understanding of
the client's thoughts, ideas, experiences, and
feelings and communicates this empathic
understanding to the client. Rogers believed that
when clients feel unconditional positive regard
from a genuine therapist and feel empathically
understood, they will be less anxious and more
willing to reveal themselves and their
weaknesses. By doing so, clients gain a better
understanding of their own lives, move toward
self-acceptance, and can make progress in
resolving a wide variety of personal problems.
Person-centered
therapists use an approach called active
listening to demonstrate empathy—letting
clients know that they are being fully listened
to and understood. First, therapists must show
through their body position and facial expression
that they are paying attention—for example,
by directly facing the client and making good eye
contact. During the therapy session, the
therapist tries to restate what the client has
said and seeks clarification of the client's
feelings. The therapist may use such phrases as
"What I hear you saying is..." and
"You're feeling like..." The therapist
seeks mainly to reflect the client's statements
back to the client accurately, and does not try
to analyze, judge, or lead the direction of
discussion. For example:
Client:
I always felt my husband loved me. I just don't
understand why this happened.
Therapist:
You feel surprised by the fact that he left you,
because you thought he loved you. It comes as a
real surprise.
Client:
M-hm. I guess I haven't really accepted that he
could do this to me. A big part of me still loves
him.
Therapist:
You seem to still be hurting from what he did.
The love you have for him is so strong.
Many
therapists, not just those of humanistic
orientation, have adopted elements of Rogers's
approach.
"Psychotherapy,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.
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