Carl Rogers: Person-Centered Therapy

Carl Rogers founded the humanistic approach to therapy known as person-client centered therapy. Rogers was a pioneer in terms of his revolutionary ideas and novel ways of thinking. He didn’t approve of the systematic methods used by psychoanalysts. He thought psychodynamic methodology created too much distance between the therapist and client. According to Rogers, therapy is more effective if the client grasped with his feelings, emotions and thoughts and the therapist supported them. Delving too far into the unconscious was counterproductive according to person-client centered therapy. As long as the therapist provides a supportive atmosphere, the client will discover that they know themselves best. The client is in the best position to help themselves because it is their own mind that is under scrutiny. Working with clients allowed Rogers to formulate theories that would eventually lead to aiding clients in reaching a state of …show more content…
The therapist tries his best to be straightforward and open with the client in order to maintain a trustful relationship. The therapist decides how discreet to be and which information about themselves to keep and which information to share. However, if the therapist doesn’t let the client know anything about themselves, then the client-therapist relationship may suffer. Another quality of person-centered therapy that needs to be maintained is not placing conditions on how to judge the client. The therapist must take a positive stance on his view of the client, even if they don’t like some of the client’s behaviors. The third ingredient in person-centered therapy is that the therapist express an empathetic attitude towards the client. If the therapist shows a genuine understanding of the client’s feelings and emotions and can relate to them, then the therapeutic relationship will