Summary Of Carl Rogers's Theory Of Personality

Carl Rogers developed his theory of personality from his experiences in counseling centers where he believed that a client-centered approach was the most effective way to understand human relationships. Using this approach, he outlined the importance of non-directive discussion and unconditional positive regard for the client, both of which are discussed below. This paper will further explore his client-centered approach, the organismic valuing process, the conditions of worth a person develops, and the characteristics of a fully functioning human being. The organismic valuing process is an internal bodily mechanism that passes judgment on the worth of an experience and consequently enhances the growth of an individual (Ryckman, 2013). Simply, …show more content…
Client-centered therapy has two primary characteristics. First is the therapist’s unconditional positive regard for their client, and second is the non-directive approach which allows the client to lead the discussion. This therapeutic process involves many steps, first of which is cultivating a psychological relationship between a therapist and their client (Mikheeva, 2015). Secondly, the client must be experiencing incongruency and anxiety in their personality process, whereas the therapist must be in a congruent, psychologically healthy, state of mind. Throughout therapy, the client requires unconditional positive regard from the therapist, which is key to this form of therapy. It allows the client’s freedom to say anything without fear of disapproval or rejection. In return, the therapist must experience the client’s internal frame of mind as a result of their open communication. Finally, if a client understands that they are receiving unconditional positive regard from the therapist and allows an open relationship to develop, the client will have learned more about themselves and will adapt their personality to their newfound