Carl Rogers - Person-Centred Therapy
Describe Rogers’ theory with attention to the following four areas: * General theory/philosophy * Theory of personality * Acquisition of dysfunction * “Treatment” of dysfunction
This essay will begin by introducing Carl Rogers, with a brief description of his upbringing and career background and will go on to discuss the main areas of his theory. The humanistic philosophy will be explained briefly and will lead on to Carl Rogers’ own humanistic beliefs and the birth of client-centred therapy. Carl Rogers’ theory of the human personality will be explored, mainly Rogers’ idea of self and the self-concept and a person’s natural actualising tendency. This will lead on to his beliefs around the acquisition of human dysfunction, primarily being the imposed conditions of worth present from birth and a person’s internal locus of evaluation becoming external. This will then be brought to Rogers’ main theories of the “treatments” for these dysfunctions, concentrating on his six necessary and sufficient conditions within a therapeutic relationship and the positive effects these have on the client. The essay will then be brought to a conclusion, drawing together the main points and ideas from the essay.
Carl Ransom Rogers was born on January 8th 1902 in Chicago, USA. He was one of six children who grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family. While he once felt he was called to become a Christian minister he eventually went on to embark on a career as a clinical psychologist. Rogers found it increasingly difficult to adapt to the ideas of behaviourism and psychoanalysis so he began to formulate his own ideas from his personal experience with clients and thus created client-centred therapy (Thorne, 2003).
The person-centred approach is a part of the group of approaches referred to as ‘humanistic psychology.’ Humanistic psychology takes a phenomenological approach to the person. It is concerned with the human as an organic being and values human nature
This essay will begin by introducing Carl Rogers, with a brief description of his upbringing and career background and will go on to discuss the main areas of his theory. The humanistic philosophy will be explained briefly and will lead on to Carl Rogers’ own humanistic beliefs and the birth of client-centred therapy. Carl Rogers’ theory of the human personality will be explored, mainly Rogers’ idea of self and the self-concept and a person’s natural actualising tendency. This will lead on to his beliefs around the acquisition of human dysfunction, primarily being the imposed conditions of worth present from birth and a person’s internal locus of evaluation becoming external. This will then be brought to Rogers’ main theories of the “treatments” for these dysfunctions, concentrating on his six necessary and sufficient conditions within a therapeutic relationship and the positive effects these have on the client. The essay will then be brought to a conclusion, drawing together the main points and ideas from the essay.
Carl Ransom Rogers was born on January 8th 1902 in Chicago, USA. He was one of six children who grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family. While he once felt he was called to become a Christian minister he eventually went on to embark on a career as a clinical psychologist. Rogers found it increasingly difficult to adapt to the ideas of behaviourism and psychoanalysis so he began to formulate his own ideas from his personal experience with clients and thus created client-centred therapy (Thorne, 2003).
The person-centred approach is a part of the group of approaches referred to as ‘humanistic psychology.’ Humanistic psychology takes a phenomenological approach to the person. It is concerned with the human as an organic being and values human nature
References: Casemore, R. (2011) Person-centred counselling in a nutshell. 2nd edn. London: SAGE. Gross, R.D. (2010) Psychology : the science of mind and behaviour. 4th edn. London: Hodder Education. Kirschenbaum, H McLeod, J. (2009) An introduction to counselling. 4th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Mearns, D. and Thorne, B. (2007) Person-centred counselling in action. 3rd edn. London: SAGE. (Counselling in action). Merry, T. (2002) Learning and being in person centred counselling. 2nd edn. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Nelson-Jones, R. (2010) Theory and practice of counselling and therapy. 5th edn. London: SAGE. Pervin, L. (1993) Personality: Theory and Research. 6e edn. Chichester: Wiley. Rogers, C.R. (1961) On becoming a person: a therapists view of psychotherapy. London: Vintage. Rogers, C. (1964) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBkUqcqRChg Thorne, B Thorne, B. (2003) Carl Rogers. 2nd edn. London: SAGE. (Key figures in counselling and psychotherapy).