PERSONAL THEORETICAL ORIENTATION 1

Personal Theoretical Orientation

Jonnilynn F. May

Chadron State College

COUN 541

Fall 2018
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Abstract

As a student who is still studying how to be a counselor and as this class is one of the first

introductions to theoretical orientations this is simply the beginning to my process of

identifying my own personal theoretical orientation. As a person who is more reserved

and who likes to identify with people on a personal one-on-one level I have found that the

person-centered therapy is the one perspective that I can most identify with my own

personality style. Not only have I identified this therapeutic process as the one that I an

most identify with but I have found with past assessments that this is one that is best fit to

me as a counselor. As an individual who is still learning and growing I am sure there will

be some changes with my personal theoretical orientation. Just I am sure that my

orientation will not work with all clients I also plan that my orientation will not always

stay the same within my practicing context. This paper is simply my introduction to my

personal theoretical orientation.

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Personal Theoretical Orientation

Key Concepts of your Approach

Carl Rogers who is said to be the “quiet revolutionary” changed the way of the

therapeutic process, as it was known. Before Rogers’s time therapists were known to be

the “problem solvers” the know-it-all’s who could fix problematic behaviors and

problematic thinking. But with Rogers new thinking the client became the experts on

their own lives, this thinking was new in the sense that Rogers had the basic

understanding that the client is who had the uncanny ability to understand themselves and

were also able to solve their own problems without the therapist needing to make those

changes, but for the client to be able to make these changes Rogers also made it clear that

this change would only happen within a specific kind of supportive therapeutic

relationship. In this therapeutic relationship Rogers spoke of creating a “growth-

promoting climate” in which the therapist displayed congruence or sincere genuineness

or realness with the client, unconditional positive regard or acceptance and caring for the

client, and finally accurate empathic understanding. Accurate empathic understanding is

one of the therapist attributes that Rogers often talks about, because in order for a

therapist to understand the client they must first be able to understand and grasp a sense

of what the world looks like from the client’s perspective. Once the client is able to

experience these attributes then the client may finally be ready for the “growth promoting

change” and move forward within their lives and experience the person they are capable

of becoming.

Another key concept of person-centered therapy is actualizing tendency in which there is

belief that humans have a natural ability to move from self-defeating thoughts and actions
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to psychological health and growth and well-being. This is why in person-centered

therapy so much emphasis is placed on the client as the expert who knows what is best in

their life and as the therapist who is simply there to assist the clients in this therapeutic

process.

View of your Role as a Counselor

As stated, Carl Rogers takes the stance that the client is the expert on their own lives and

the therapists is there to basically be the client’s support in change. With that being said,

it is the counselor’s role to be real with the client and the client/therapist relationship. If

the client feels that their counselor is being real with them and real within the relationship

this will build trust and understanding within the relationship and allow for growth and

change within the client and their therapeutic process.

With the client as the expert on their own lives it is important for the counselor to be

there, in the moment, with the client and experience life from the client’s point of view.

This understanding will allow for the client to find their own voice and be their own

advocate within their life and be able to make the changes that they find necessary. And it

is also important for the client to have the ability to relate to the clients on a person-to-

person basis so that they can be that encouragement clients need to make the changes that

the client knows that they need to make.

One of the things about person-centered therapy is that the focus is not so much on

therapeutic effectiveness or on particular theories or techniques; and that is what I like

about this mode of therapy. Person-centered therapy is all about people being people, and

wanting to help one another rather than focusing on types of therapy, theories, or what

technique will be used.

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Therapeutic Goals

As a person who plans on using the person-centered approach to therapy my main goal

would be to first of all make the client is comfortable in the office where we will be

meeting, I would want the client to feel at home and feel like they were sitting down and

having a conversation with a close friend or family member rather than feeling like they

are sitting with a counselor. Then my second goal would be giving the client my

undivided attention, I would want the client to feel like I respect them enough to care

about everything they are telling me. I would also want the client to feel like they can

trust me and will trust me with their feelings and emotions, this process of trust may take

awhile but trust is very detrimental to the client/therapist relationship and to the client in

the sense that they will be sharing things that are very close and deep to them.

Once the client is able to feel comfortable and open up to me as the counselor I would

hope that they would feel like there are some things that they are noticing that they can

change in their lives. And when they begin to realize these changes, I really hope that

they are then comfortable enough within themselves and within our relationship that they

feel confident enough to make what ever needed changes in their life, which they of

course would have to find necessary. As a therapist working from the person-centered

approach it would be beneficial that I do not pressure or advise the client to make any

decisions off of my thoughts or feelings, since from the person-centered approach the

client is the expert on their on life, I am only there as an assistant to their therapeutic

process.
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Relationship Issues you are likely to Consider

Carl Rogers says that in the therapeutic relationship there is a set of therapeutic core

conditions in which the client and therapist are viewed as members within a

psychological contract. In this contract the client is viewed as the vulnerable position and

the therapist is viewed as the real genuine person. The therapist is to have unconditional

positive regard. The therapist is to have empathic of the client’s internal world. And the

therapist’s communication to the client is to empathic understanding and unconditional

positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved. If these core conditions can be kept and

withheld within the relationship there will be therapeutic change within the client. This is

one problematic issue I can see arising within my own practice, what if the client was not

open or what if as the therapist I struggled to remain congruent? I think that this would

cause issues not only within the relationship but also within the therapeutic process and

impede the client’s process.

Another part of being congruent and real within the relationship is equality and making

sure that there are no secrets kept from the client, and also transparency and sharing

within the relationship by the therapist. This draws a blurred line for me. At which point

does congruence and transparency go too far? At what point does the therapist share too

much? Being real and honest is very important to the person-centered approach but at

what point does personal information do more harm to the client than it does good? But I

do think that with time and experience this is an issue that a practicing can get a better

understanding and sense of when it is appropriate to share and what is appropriate to

share within the client/therapist relationship.

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Rogers makes it a point to speak of accurate empathic understanding, this means that the

therapist will be able to experience the clients feeling as if they are their own but at the

same time preventing becoming lost in those feelings. I think that this is another things

that can become problematic as a practicing counselor, often I am sure that I will

encounter clients who have experiences similar to mine so it will be easy for me to

understand but in another sense I have to be able to draw a line and realize that it is the

clients feelings and emotions and not my own.

Central Techniques you are likely to Employ

From the beginning when Carl Rogers initially introduced the person-centered

perspective his focus was on understanding the client from the clients point of view. But

as time passed and Rogers views developed he focused more on the client and therapist

relationship in that he wanted the therapist to be congruent, empathetic, and

understanding. But after years of the evolutionary process, right now the primary focus is

on the therapeutic process so that the client can feel comfortable with opening up and

making changes within their lives. Other than that focus on the therapeutic relationship

there is not any “techniques” that the practicing person-centered therapist will employ in

their work with the client. But what is important to the person-centered approach is

ensuring that this approach is appropriate for the client that the therapist is working with.

Some clients may need more stability, rules, direction, and confrontation to ensure

change and support. Just like with the many different personalities and situations a

therapist may come in contact with it is also important to ensure that the client is getting

the appropriate support from you as the counselor.

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How you would Address Issues of Cultural Diversity

Because the person-centered approach is primarily focused on the client and therapist

relationship and also has a lot to do with how the therapist relates to the client this

approach can be to many diverse cultures and groups of individuals. But there can be

some instances in which this approach may not work well with some clients. Such as the

clients who are lacking support such as in crisis, addiction, and poverty. The people who

come from difficult situations may need more support and direction than that of the

person-centered approach. When a counselor is faced with a client who needs more

support than can be offered from a close therapeutic relationship in person-centered

therapy it may be appropriate to either make some changes within your practice or

consider referral for the client so that they can get the help and support that they need.

Another issue may be with clients who struggle to understand or relate to such strong

emotions such as that which will be expressed within the person-centered approach. With

these clients it may be appropriate to tone down or withhold some feelings until the client

is more comfortable. With the person-centered approach being so focused on feelings and

emotions and understanding it can be difficult to work with clients who are not

immediately comfortable with this approach. But that does not mean that this approach

will be unsuccessful or not will not work; some clients may just need more time to be

accustomed to the type of relationship that is trying to be built. In cultures where the

focus is more on a collectivist culture it can also be difficult for the clients to think about

themselves when ever the main focus of their thinking may be on the greater group or

community. But in these situations the person-centered approach can be adjusted so that
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the counselor can explore the cultural background of the client and see how the client’s

values and wants will work in with her collectivist cultural background.
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References

Corey, G. (2017). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (10th ed.).

Bellmont CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.