Evaluation of the

theoretical concepts of
person-centered counseling

Subject- Interventions

Name- Shruti Shashidharan

Roll no.- 02

MA Psychology, Part I

Person-centered therapy, also called client-centered therapy, was developed by Carl Rogers. He,
along with Abraham Maslow, was a proponent of the humanistic approach. He found certain
limitations in the psychoanalytic and behaviorist approaches towards therapy. These approaches
lacked a scientific method and were based on the assumption that the clinician knows best.
Therefore, he conceptualized person-centered counseling in response to those limitations.
Contrary to the psychoanalytic and behavioral approaches, in the person-centered approach, the
client has complete autonomy over the therapy process. They decide the goals for the sessions.
The clinician does not offer any interpretations or advice to the client. Instead, they actively
listen, empathize and accept the client for who they are. They create a positive environment for
the client to initiate self-directed change. They reflect what the client says, constantly asking for
clarifications and helping them utilize their internal resources to look for solutions to their
problems. Therefore, it’s also called non-directive therapy.

Rogers gave certain theoretical concepts that laid the foundation for the person-centered
therapeutic practice. One of the important aspects to be considered is his view of human nature.
Rogers laid great emphasis and trust on an individual’s internal potential for growth. He believed
that all people are essentially good and have a natural tendency towards self-growth. Self-
actualization is a universal tendency. The efforts towards actualization are unique to each person
as they strive through the obstacles that life throws at them. If provided the favorable conditions
for growth, each person can move towards self-awareness and self-regulation.

Another crucial concept is conditions of worth. These are judgmental and critical messages that
guide a person to think, act and feel in ways that satisfy other's needs. Most people have been
exposed to such conditions that were established by the important people in their lives. Their
self-worth is determined by their ability to meet these conditions. If they fail to do so, they are
unlovable. Conforming to these conditions of worth for love and acceptance begins in childhood
when parents place certain expectations about how their child should behave and the
consequences of not doing so. Children who grow up in restrictive environments with
dominating parents tend to internalize the criticisms. This leads to inconsistencies within the self.
They grow up to become very inhibited, shy, and defensive adults. Their authentic=ity is
restricted and their self becomes fragmented. Therefore, people should be provided with
unconditional positive regard so they can become fully functioning self-actualizing individuals.

The next concept given by Rogers is the organismic valuing process. It is the spontaneous force
or the intuitive ability of a person to recognize their needs that will facilitate self-actualization. It
is the built-in mechanism that helps a person evaluate their actions and take the necessary
corrective measures to actualize. Somewhere along the line, however, the process moves towards
an external source. This means that people abandon their valuing process and adopt the
conditions of worth set by others to assess their self-worth. Every individual needs acceptance
and love from others. When this need for approval starts to conflict with one’s internal valuing
process, there is confusion, and healthy development is hindered. Their self-concept depends on
others rather than themselves. The behavior of the individual does not match their true internal
sense of self, rather reflects external expectations of others. The person is said to be incongruent,
that is, there is a gap between their ideal self and real self. This hinders the process of developing
fulfilling relationships because the person has built up walls that prevent any form of effective
communication. Rogers described incongruence (not being true to oneself), as the cause of
anxiety and other psychological problems.

Rogers introduced the concept of a fully functioning person. A fully functioning person is
authentic, congruent, and honest. There are a few personality dimensions that are characteristic
of such a person. These personality characteristics include- openness to experience, living with a
sense of meaning and purpose, trust and congruence in self, unconditional positive regard and
regard for others, internal locus of evaluation, being fully aware of the moment, and living
creatively. This concept brings in elements of the previous concepts of conditions of worth and
organismic valuing process as well. Therefore, all of Rogers's humanistic theories in person-
centered counseling are interrelated and important to establish a holistic and positive view of
human beings.

The concept of phenomenological perspective also has a key role in the practice of person-
centered therapy. It means that each person’s view of the world is subjective and defines the
direction of their life. Each person reacts to life’s events in ways that are influenced by their
experiences. Therefore, it is important to understand the client’s internal frame of reference and
use that as a guide to therapy. This enforces the idea that the client knows best and directs
therapy through their personal experiences. The clinician will only provide the necessary
conditions for the client to take initiative in their growth process and facilitate the utilization of
the client’s inherent resources to become actualized.
According to Rogers, the essence of the therapy lies in the therapist's ability to establish a
positive therapeutic relationship by communicating three core conditions that are essential in
therapy. These are congruence, unconditional positive regard or acceptance, and empathy.

Congruence is displayed when the clinician expresses genuineness and authenticity in the
therapeutic alliance. The clinician should be able to communicate with the client clearly without
trying to put up a professional front. The more the client feels that the clinician is honest and
genuine, the easier it is to openly express themselves and grow positively. They should also be
vigilant of their verbal and nonverbal messages to maintain consistency between the two. This
will not create any unwanted confusion in the client and also avoid misinterpretation of the
messages as negative. Apart from self-awareness, the clinician should also be attuned to their
environment. After building rapport and establishing trust, the clinician should continue being
attentive to the therapeutic relationship and look out for even minor problems that can harm the
relationship. They should be aware of the subjective interpretations of the client, to develop an
intuitive understanding of what needs to be said as well as what should not be said during
therapy. Self-disclosure comes as a useful tool in enhancing the therapeutic relationship and
making the client feel understood. It should be used only for the benefit of the client. The
clinician should be mindful of what they reveal to the client and how it will help them progress
in therapy. It should not be counterproductive to the process of therapy as it will hinder the
client’s growth. For example, if the clinician feels that the client is showing reluctance and the
therapy is not progressing, then they can communicate the same to the client in a non-threatening
and genuine manner. According to Rogers, self-disclosure in this manner can help in building the
strength of the client-counselor relationship. Congruence is a quality that can be practiced in
other settings as well. In personal relationships, one can be congruent by being aware of one’s
true self, expressing what one feels, and also being aware of other's thoughts and feelings. A
strong relationship cannot be built if one tries to put up a façade to please the other. One needs to
be open and honest in their communication. If people are congruent, others will perceive them to
be trustworthy and they’ll be comfortable openly expressing themselves as well. Acknowledging
what one feels no matter how difficult it is, admitting mistakes, not hiding behind pretenses, are
all ways in which people can practice and be more congruent in their lives. For example, if one is
jealous of a friend’s achievement that they had worked equally hard for, it is important to
acknowledge that emotion. There can be mixed feelings of happiness and guilt as well.
Therefore, openly expressing and talking about it will help strengthen the friendship and leave no
room for negativity. Even within a work setting, not being satisfied with one’s job but still
putting up with it is incongruence. If one does not agree with other’s views, one should express
their opinions calmly and professionally, instead of conforming to the majority. In case of
disagreements, the group can work together authentically to reach a compromise that works best
for all. This increases mutual respect within the work team. It will also help maintain a
productive and healthy work environment.

Unconditional positive regard means accepting and caring about a person for who they are,
without placing any conditions of how they should behave, think and feel that is pleasing to
others. The belief is that people are worthy of love and acceptance despite having both positive
and negative qualities. People should focus on their strengths, while also being aware of their
weaknesses without using them as a measure of their worth. People should accept themselves for
who they are instead of working to conform to external standards of worth set by others. In a
therapeutic setting, the clinician should provide the clients with unconditional positive regard
through consistent acceptance and confidence in the client’s ability for self-growth. This does not
mean that the clinician unquestioningly accepts even the negative behaviors of the client, rather
they should express their concerns and provide the most conducive environment to the client to
come to terms with their maladaptive feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, and take active measures
to change them. The feedback and evaluation should be focused on the behavior of the client
rather than the client as a person. This type of non-judgmental observation boosts the client’s
ability to uncover the aspects of self that cause them distress or shame. It promotes the idea that
the undesirable aspects of self do not define one’s worth, they can be worked upon to bring
positive change. The client’s feelings are validated by unconditional acceptance from the
clinician, and their belief in their self-worth is reinforced. Such support also helps them develop
tools and use their internal resources to ward off and deal with negative messages that they have
received in their life. An important area of life where unconditional positive regard will work
best in parenting. Parents are the first source of contact of a child with the social world. Their
beliefs and values have a huge impact on the subsequent development of the child. Parenting
practices hugely determine what coping mechanisms the child learns and develops as they grow
into adults. It also determines how they evaluate their self-worth in other relationships. The
parents should provide their child with an encouraging environment in which they are free to
express themselves, learn from their mistakes without judgment, and grow into well-adjusted
individuals. Unconditional positive regard does not mean that the child is free to display any
undesirable behavior and the parents have to accept it with no questions asked. Rather the
parents should attempt to rectify the child's behavior without making them feel any less about
themselves. Being too harsh on the child will prevent them from opening up due to fear of
judgment, punishment, or disappointment. Even if the parent is disappointed, it should be
directed to the behavior and not the child. They should provide constant support and acceptance
to the child throughout their growth process. In a work setting, providing unconditional positive
regard to oneself can help to deal with the work pressure, maintain a healthy work-life balance
and cope effectively with burnout. An individual should identify their areas of weakness and try
to change it, rather than factoring it in as a measure of their capabilities. It’s very easy to get into
a cycle of self-blame for perceived incompetence in one’s work such as being unable to meet a
deadline, not being satisfied with the quality of work, not getting a promotion, etc. This happens
because most people set extremely high expectations for their performance, and when they are
unable to meet those conditions, they blame themselves for being incapable.

Empathy means understanding someone’s experiences and feelings deeply. In simple terms, it is
putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It is different from sympathy. It does not just mean
feeling sorry for someone but encompasses a deeper sense of their subjective reality. The ‘as if’
quality is of significance. It means that the clinician should be able to understand the client as if
it were their feelings, without getting lost in it. The clinician should be attuned to the client’s
emotions as well as be aware of one’s separateness. Maintaining this distinction facilitates
change. When the clinician empathizes with the client, they can reflect on the subjective
experience of the client resulting in their increased self-awareness. Empathy is an important
therapeutic tool as it helps clients to value their experiences, gain a fresh perspective of their
previous experiences, alter their current perception of themselves, others, and the world, as well
as increase their confidence in their decision-making skills. The clinician also gains a deeper
meaning of the emotional and cognitive aspects of what the client says. Empathy is also a useful
interpersonal skill that can be used outside the therapeutic setting. As easy as it sounds, empathy
is a quality that needs to be developed through constant practice. A complete and deep
understanding of someone’s experiences without actually experiencing them firsthand is quite a
difficult thing to express. But one can begin with small steps in their daily social interactions. It
can begin with being empathetic with a friend. For example, if a friend is going through a tough
time, instead of trying to tell them that everything will be alright, try validating their emotions by
using statements such as, “I can imagine how hard this situation must be for you”. Trying to fix
the problem without actively listening to their concerns might not be the best approach at that
moment. Help them get through their feelings before helping them take actions to tackle the
situation through active measures. Provide them with encouragement, support, and time to
recover as per their needs. Making a person feel heard is sometimes all one needs to do to help
them through the emotions and thoughts being experienced at that moment.

Thus, these core conditions are useful not just in a clinical setting, but also in daily routine lives
as well. In conclusion, person-centered therapy is a useful technique to use in both individual and
group counseling sessions with clients suffering from self-esteem issues and other adjustment
issues. It provides a nonjudgmental environment for people to explore their inner selves and
bring about positive changes within themselves. Stemming from the humanistic approach, it
provides the clients an opportunity to be genuinely heard and understood. They can openly try
out new behaviors and take responsibility for their actions. Thus, with the help of the clinician,
the client gradually progresses towards actualization and becoming a fully functioning person.
Despite these advantages, the theory does face some criticisms as well. As it relies heavily on the
client's direction, it is not useful for those who want a more structured approach to therapy and
expect some level of guidance from their therapist. Clients suffering from cognitive dysfunctions
cannot actively participate in the therapy process by introspecting and making decisions for
themselves. In collectivistic cultures, the group is deemed more important than the individual,
and therefore, this might not is a useful technique. The therapy might end up focusing too much
on the positives thereby shifting focus from the underlying negative problems. Overall, Rogers's
conception of person-centered therapy holds value as it instills hope and believes in the innate
goodness of people. It also teaches some important qualities that have an impact on the well-
being of people even if practiced outside of the therapeutic setting.

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