Unconditional Positive Regard In Counselling

An ideal counselling relationship is one where the therapist is able to understand and connect with the patient's frame of mind while showing interest and providing warmth, without getting emotionally involved in the situation.(Schwebel, M et. al ,1959). From this, it can be gathered that a genuine sense of understanding and interest is important for the success of a counselling relationship. Rogers C.(1967) states that genuineness, warmth , empathy and unconditional positive regard are a few essential qualities that a therapist should possess, Rogers further reported that there exists a logical entwinement between these traits such that they cannot exist without the other. In order to provide a constructive and positive personality transformation …show more content…
Unconditional positive regard is when the counsellor communicates a sense of caring and warmth to the client which is not contaminated by any evaluations and has no conditions placed before it. The therapist accepts the client wholly as a person without any stipulation (Rogers C. et al,1967). When the therapist shows unconditional positive regard to a client it fosters self-unconditional positive regard within the client, this in turn helps increase self worth ,self confidence and appreciation. (Rogers C. et al,1959). In order for a client to feel comfortable enough to express the inner fragments of self which are usually kept hidden, the need for the client to feel unconditional positive regard from the therapist is great. When the client feels that the therapist will accept all aspects of self and not depict hostile behaviour to anything it encourages further sharing of information which indeed helps to reach the core of problems (Schmitt, 1980). By expressing unconditional positive regard the therapist conveys a sense of prizing or valuing the client and embracing all their aspects without possessing any evaluating attitudes (Rogers C. et al,1992). Rogers (1992) reports that for a constructive personality change to take place the client needs to be able to express and share all feelings and concerns without the fear of being judged for anything that is said, this is only possible when the …show more content…
The greater the degree of these qualities present within the client the more the client will be engaged in therapy which eventually will result in a higher positive personality change (Roger C. et al,1967). When the client is able to perceive these traits it helps ease into the therapy and also urges the client to express them self in a deeper manner which subsequently helps unravel fragments of self that the client might be just scarcely aware of(Roger C. et al,1992).Though Bohart A. (2011) places more stress on the need for empathy in a counselling relationship and Schnellbacher J. (2008) reports genuineness is the vital element Roger C. (1967)'s justification as to how only the presence of all the three qualities together provides the best chance for a counselling relationship to be successful is widely accepted in today's