Carl Rogers's Person-Centered Theory

Rogers’s person-centered theory states that people have a basic need for high self-regard and if unhindered can organize their inner and outer experiences into one integrated self through a self-actualization process (Nugent, p. 94). One who has unhealthy social or psychological involvements impedes oneself from achieving self-actualization and can experience conflicts in articulating their basic needs. It was Carl Rogers theory that stated, that humans have the ability to resolve their conflicts, but need awareness to do so. Conflicts arise when there is a discrepancy between one’s basic needs and pleasing others. Rogers in the 1930’s worked at a clinic that was using a form of therapy that was unheard of called relationship therapy. What …show more content…
• Unconditional positive regard- the nonevaluative, nonjudgmental attitude of the counselor towards the client’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
• Empathy- understating the client’s world just as the client does.
When these conditions are met, rogers claimed, clients can arrive at self-understanding and resolve conflicts (Nugent, p. 96). As time went on, Rogers published more books and expanded his theory due to his continued experiential nature of the counseling process. He established a new name for his theory which was called person-centered which was an approach for teaching and educational administration. In addition, he taught about encounter groups-human relationships in all spheres of society, on marriage and other forms of partnership that he believed would emerge with a new type of “self-empowered person” (Nugent, p. …show more content…
111). The theoretical integration- counselors take two or more counseling theories and combine into a systematic whole (Nugent, p. 111). And technical eclecticism- where the professional uses one theoretical view of personality and selects various techniques from many theoretical orientations which is in contrast to unsystematic eclecticism (Nugent, p.