“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change” (Rogers 1969). These words written by Carl Rogers over a half century ago still hold credence in today’s society and psychological sector. His genius in discovering the actualizing tendency, or the tendency for an individual to strive to possess traits and improve themselves, revolutionized how psychotherapy was conducted throughout global society. After studying at Columbia University and completing his Phd, he became a practicing therapist for about twenty years, along the way developing his theory of psychotherapy, Client-Centered Therapy, in order to create an environment and relationship in which a client, or participant, could achieve congruence, or obtain …show more content…
Over numerous experiences with clients, Rogers developed the concepts of human nature he termed actualization and self-actualization (Rogers 1951). Rogers believed that every human had the actualizing tendency, which he described as “the directional tendency” in his clients (Rogers 1969). Rogers was referring to the actualization tendency present in human beings, or the biological drive to improve oneself. This phenomenon is always at work, and plays an elementary motivation in the human psyche. A form of this actualization tendency is self-actualization, which is the value of human nature that Rogers’ therapy was contingent on. Self-actualization is the act of changing one’s behavior to achieve congruence with the ideal set of values and characteristics that an individual strives to possess, to act in the same manner as the person they aspire to be. Rogers discovered this value to much opposition, as the …show more content…
In a recorded therapy session between Rogers and a new client, Gloria, Rogers employs his techniques, such as listening actively, accepting Gloria’s flaws, understanding her situation from her perspective, and allowing her to make her own decisions (Three Approaches to Psychotherapy). Though Gloria is initially confused and seeks an affirmative answer from Rogers about an interpersonal conflict, as Rogers continues to let her talk while guiding the conversation to deeper elements, she uncovers the root of her problems by herself and realizes that she knows what course of action she wants to take. In this short thirty minute session, the effectiveness of Rogers’ therapy is unveiled, showing the extent to which his techniques benefit the psychological sector. Rogers’ therapeutic style has also provided a “better understanding of post-traumatic growth processes” and has encouraged therapists “to adopt a more positive psychological perspective [of] their understanding of how people
Learning about Client Centered Therapy has opened my eyes to counseling. Roger’s theory of actualizing tendency and theory of self expanded my knowledge of my own self-concept as well as counseling. Rogers explained that every person has an innate drive to self-actualize. In many instances, loved ones put conditions for worth on him/her, which causes incongruence for the person. He/she begins to loose trust in his/her organismic valuing process. By understanding this concept, I am more inclined to stay true to my organismic valuing process. I have trust in my innate ability to lead myself in direction to self-actualizing. It may be challenging when others put conditions of worth on me, but understanding the concept may help me stay true to
As this book points out, and what I found interesting, the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client, can be even more important than how the therapy sessions are conducted. A therapists needs to be congruent. This is important because a client needs a sense of stability. To know what is expected from him or her while being in this transitional period of change. In some cases this congruency may be the only stability in his life, and without it, there is no way of him trusting in his t...
In B. L. Duncan, S. D. Miller, B.E. Wampold, & M.A. Hubble (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: Delivering what works in therapy (2nd ed., pp. 143-166). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
In the second part of the book Rogers speaks of his ideas of his theory of the person-centered approach to therapy. This is the part of the book that I felt really spoke to me. Person-centered theory is a lot of what I would like to do. I enjoy the ideas and concepts that Rogers presents in his theory. I think that it is extremely important to be able to take into consideration not only the diagnosis of the patient/client with whom you are working, but that it is more important to be able to take the time to sit back and to listen to them. I have realized in the year that I have been working in the psychiatric hospital how important it is for the patient/client to just sit back and listen to what it is they're saying to you. This however does not mean I am only hearing their words, but that I am listening at a much deeper level and actually he...
My theoretical orientation can best be described as a mixture of Person-centered therapy and feminist therapy. Where person-centered therapy is all about being aware of oneself and feminist therapy encourages personal empowerment. Those two together create a great theme of evolving to become something greater in life. I believe that human behavior is a result of feeling like you, have a sense of belonging in the world. Similar to what Maslow’s hierarchy, people need to feel a sense of love in order to be happy and confident in one’s self. Once they are content with themselves as result, they will project that same love towards others. When considering my approach, I want clients to be authentic and confident in who they are. The individual
His contributions to human behavior have changed many of the theories that preceded him, and his theory contributed to many theories that followed. I want to explore Client/Person Centered Therapy. This is a type of therapy that was pioneered by Carl Rogers. This therapy is different because as the name suggests it solely focuses on the client. ' In focusing on the client, the client’s feelings are deeply explored.
Person-Centered Therapy is an optimistic theory that is categorized in the humanistic approaches to therapy. PC therapy believes that human beings are intrinsically good, and are motivated to be the best that they can be (Carver & Scheier, 2008, p. 346). The theory embodies respect for individuals and values of tolerance and understanding (Brodley, 2007, p. 140). As the name implies the client is responsible for his or her own growth and improvement (Carver & Scheier, 2008, p.344). Rogers' stated that the main assumption of his approach is that “individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self- directed behavior” (Rogers, 1980, p.115). One of the underlying assumptions, and main motivation, of Person-Centered Therapy is that human beings possess an innate tendency to grow and meet their full potential, or to self-actualize. Self-actualization is the inherent motivation to reach our highest potential, both emotionally and intellectually (Kosslyn & Rosenberg, 2004, p. 464). Self-actualization moves one towards autonomous behavior and self-sufficiency, it enriches one’s life and enhances their creativity. It also promotes congruence, wholeness, and integration of the person. Rogers describes self-actualizing people as the fully functioning person (Carver & Scheier, 2008, p.322).
Rogers believed in his theory and stated that the organism has one basic goal self-actualization. He expressed his optimistic approach when he explained that all of us have the tendency to grow until we reach self-actualization. Also, he mentions that we exist because we need to gratify this need that we all have buried deep down inside of us. In relation to personality, he says individuals are open-minded and trusting to their own feelings and their environment around them. Rogers’ theory does emphasize when a person will finally reach self-actualization and that is from the experiences of his or her childhood. He says every child needs to obtain acceptance and unconditional love from others and a child will only be taken good care of and loved if he or she suits the expectancies of the others. Therefore, because of these, Rogers theorized that these conditions give an increasing level of influence to the person’s behavior. When his or her behavior and actions are continually reinforced by such conditions, the individual develops the personality type that corresponds to the generality of their
The Rogerian school of thought was developed by Carl Rogers and deviated from Freud’s psychoanalytic and the behavioral theories that were popular at the time. The Rogerian or client-centered approach was seen as an alternative to the then-dominant models in American psychology of behaviorism and psychoanalysis and as such became aligned with the emerging third force of humanistic psychology (Joseph & Murphy, 2012). The Rogerian approach does not rely on stages of development or conditioned responses to create a behavior change in the client. The Rogerian approach is primarily focused on the individual personal experience of the client. Behavior change is accomplished through the process of self-actualization. Self-actualization motivates an individual to seek the full potential of their abilities. Rogers views human beings as inherently good and they desire to self-actualize (Peltier, 2009). Rogerian thought is also commonly referred to as person-centered, client based, or the emphatic approach.
...ential impediment to postmodern and CBT interventions is practitioner incompetence. Psychological harm to clients is a potential danger of interventions implemented by untrained or inexperienced therapists. Likewise, the attitude and professional maturity of the practitioner are crucial to the value of the therapeutic process. In both approaches, whether taking on the role of teacher or collaborator, the therapist’s stance is one of positive regard, caring, and being with the client. While techniques and therapeutic styles may vary between and within the postmodern and CBT counseling approaches, they both enlist the client’s diligent participation and collaboration throughout the stages of therapy to accomplish positive therapeutic outcomes.
In the centre of the humanistic approach stands the subjective experience of individuals, the emphasis is that humans rather choose how to behave based on their free will (Derobertis, 2013). The approach rejects that behaviour is bound by past or current circumstances or ruled by uncontrollable forces, but rather believes that humans make decisions regarding their actions based on their own choices and that people are generally good (Glassman & Hadad, 2009). The main dominator of personality development is the self-actualization (Rogers, 1959). The pioneers of the humanistic approach are Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow and George Kelly. Carl Rogers named the person seeking treatment a client and not a patient, he established the client-centred
The humanistic approach has been discussed. This has been captured by Maslow’s theory of self-actualization which is about psychological growth; fulfilment and satisfaction in life and Rogers’s believe that people can have a conception of themselves. I have evaluated Rogers’s therapy about its ineffectiveness in severe illness and how Maslow’s theory of self-actualization was researched from biased case studies. I have also applied Maslow’s theory of self-actualization to my personal everyday life honestly.
Two proponents most noted for humanistic approaches to personality are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Both the Person-Centered Theory (Rogers) and the Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow) considered that humans ' true nature was good and that each has the potential for growth. A comparison of the two approaches demonstrates a compatibility between theory and practice. Furthermore, each approach focuses on individual choices and rejects the theory that biology will determine human potential.
The humanistic view on personality and identity helps us define a person’s self-worth, self-image, and ideal self. Carl Rogers, a humanistic psychologist, helped define these terms by coming up with the idea of “Self-Actualization.” Self-actualization is when a person’s idea self matches their self-image. A person’s ideal self is who they would like to become, which consists of goals and dreams that the person would like to accomplish. While, a person’s self-image is how that person perceives themselves, which can shape how that person may act and feel. Also, from the Neo-Freudian perspective in psychology, Carl Jung presents his major archetypes of personality and identity, one of them being the idea of a “persona.” He states that a person’s persona is “how we present ourselves to the world” and goes on about saying how our personality is a mask, which may change depending on the different social groups you are with, which will contribute to your identity and how people perceive you. Through the sense of ideal self, self-image, and persona, identity is something that is situated on the inside but can be shown and communicated to other
Prescott, Anne P.. The concept of self in psychology. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2006. Print.