Counselors must approach every new client with their own beliefs but understand that each client brings different characteristics to the table that may require different levels of intervention or varying types of therapy. Elements or variables that come with a client which may affect the theory chosen to counsel them may be their level of intelligence, ability to identify their thoughts or feelings, the length of time the client has for counseling, and more. Person-centered counseling was originally created by Carl Rogers in 1942. This type of counseling has since then evolved but research still proves this method of psychotherapy to be effective for certain types of people. Tommy Callahan from the movie Tommy Boy, which debuted in 1995, is
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This phenomenological perspective requires that a counselor must try their best to understand how a client is perceiving their own world rather than understand just what they are experiencing. It is not the experience that is as important for the counselor to understand as is the perception of that experience (Rogers, 1958, 1992). Rogers’ person-centered counseling additionally requires the counselor to see people as characteristically good. In the movie, Tommy Callahan is presented as an innately good character. He displays characteristics of care, positivity, and trustworthiness throughout the entire movie. Even after Tommy gets bullied several times, he gives the bullies the benefit of the doubt and continues to see the good in those people. A counselor should not have trouble finding Tommy as an innately good human being. This type of counseling also begins with a view of human nature that says from birth humans are unknowingly striving for self-actualization. People can often be led down the wrong path to self-actualization, according to Rogers, until they begin to recognize the differences between their perception of self and their actual experience. In Tommy Callahan’s case, he decided to see a counselor when he discovered that there was an incongruity between what Rogers would call his ideal self, what he is working on becoming, and his real …show more content…
Some of these conditions are that the client, Tommy, must be unsatisfied with their life in some way, must be somewhat intelligent, and cannot have too many negative factors in their way that would take a radical change to fix (Rogers, 1992). Before moving on with therapy, Tommy fits all of these factors. Tommy has a college education, although he only passed with a D+, he does not have too many negative variables holding him down, and has expressed dissatisfaction with his life. Next, Rogers outlined the following steps for his method of person-centered counseling that would fit Tommy’s intelligence level, time constraints, and
This phenomenological perspective requires that a counselor must try their best to understand how a client is perceiving their own world rather than understand just what they are experiencing. It is not the experience that is as important for the counselor to understand as is the perception of that experience (Rogers, 1958, 1992). Rogers’ person-centered counseling additionally requires the counselor to see people as characteristically good. In the movie, Tommy Callahan is presented as an innately good character. He displays characteristics of care, positivity, and trustworthiness throughout the entire movie. Even after Tommy gets bullied several times, he gives the bullies the benefit of the doubt and continues to see the good in those people. A counselor should not have trouble finding Tommy as an innately good human being. This type of counseling also begins with a view of human nature that says from birth humans are unknowingly striving for self-actualization. People can often be led down the wrong path to self-actualization, according to Rogers, until they begin to recognize the differences between their perception of self and their actual experience. In Tommy Callahan’s case, he decided to see a counselor when he discovered that there was an incongruity between what Rogers would call his ideal self, what he is working on becoming, and his real …show more content…
Some of these conditions are that the client, Tommy, must be unsatisfied with their life in some way, must be somewhat intelligent, and cannot have too many negative factors in their way that would take a radical change to fix (Rogers, 1992). Before moving on with therapy, Tommy fits all of these factors. Tommy has a college education, although he only passed with a D+, he does not have too many negative variables holding him down, and has expressed dissatisfaction with his life. Next, Rogers outlined the following steps for his method of person-centered counseling that would fit Tommy’s intelligence level, time constraints, and