Person-Centred Psychotherapy
Person-centred counselling is one of the humanistic therapies.
Humanistic therapy takes a positive view of human beings. Hence, in addition to a client’s issues explored in sessions, the therapist will also encourage a person’s potential.
Person-centred therapy was created by Carl Rogers in the 1950’s. It offered an antidote to the prevailing professional attitudes at the time where the therapist would assume expertise on a client’s life. Alternatively, in this less directive approach, the client is actively collaborating with the therapist and can be assumed to be the best person to view their experience. This more holistic approach views the therapeutic relationship as the key to healing and change. This process is facilitated by certain ‘core conditions’ or key principles;
The 3 core conditions are: UPR (Unconditional Positive Regard), Empathy and Congruence.
UPR is the ability of the therapist to lay aside their own value system and to be accepting of the client’s life in all its aspects. In this non-judgemental caring atmosphere, clients feel more comfortable to go beyond family or societal conditioning.
Empathy describes the ability of the therapist to understand the experience of the other person moment-to-moment. This allows the client to feel heard, understood and accepted and encourages an individual to be more fully themselves.
Congruence is about the therapist being genuine rather than adopting a professional façade. The counsellor is encouraged to be open and transparent about their experience in the therapeutic relationship. In person-centred terms, this openness to experience encourages working at ‘relational depth’ with a client thus deepening the person-to-person encounter.
The above ‘core conditions’ are not really techniques but a value system the therapist holds/offers and describes a ‘way of being’ with people. In this atmosphere, the client is more likely to share their thoughts and feelings and hence trust their own experience more, which is the essence of person-centred practise.
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