What is Person-Centred Therapy?
Carl Rogers is the father of Person Centred Approaches. He came to work as a therapist in a time when it was dominated by Freudians and Jungians, where complex ideas such as archetypes, complexes, the shadow self and the subconscious ruled. Most of all, the power lay with the analyst rather than the client- in essence, the client came with their issue and the analyst explained the person to themselves.
Rogers developed a profound respect for each person's individual capacity to heal and grow, calling it the actualizing tendency. He believed that if you gave the safety of a good relational environment to the person, they would themselves make use of this to launch their own transformation process, all the therapist needed to do was follow the client's lead.
He distilled what the therapist needed to offer in terms of providing the safe environment into these three core principles.
Unconditional Positive Regard: The therapist accepts you completely, without judgment or conditions. This creates a safe and non-threatening environment where you can explore your feelings openly and honestly.
Empathy: The therapist truly listens and strives to understand your experience from your perspective. This deep understanding allows them to connect with you and validate your feelings.
Congruence: The therapist is authentic and genuine in their interactions with you. They are transparent about their own feelings and reactions, fostering a genuine and trusting relationship.
Whilst the ideas of Freud and Jung are still hugely influential and explanatory in modern therapy and many more therapeutic modalities flourish, the Core Conditions have become pan-theoretical. Rogers himself died in 1987 but the profound simplicity of his total respect for the person in front of him lives on.
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