Person-Centered Therapy

Presentation
Beatrice Mackay, Melissa Fuentes, Farrah Martin

EDSC 522 Theories of Counseling

Professor Marilyn Hale

School of Education, Concordia University Irvine

“Tell me more…”
February 23, 2023
Person-Centered Therapy Memes
 1
Key Points and Concepts

Presented by Beatrice Mackay

 Person-Centered Therapy
Before we begin:
What is Person Centered Therapy?
● aka “Rogerian Therapy”
● Client-centered therapy founded by Carl Rogers (1940s)
● Employs a non-directive approach
○ Therapist refrains from interpretations
○ Allows client to speak freely
● Focus is on the client not therapist!
○ Refrain from talking about themselves.

(Psychology Today, 2022)

 Key Points & Concepts
● Humanistic in nature.
● Emphasizes:
○ Relationships
○ Therapist attributes: (1)warm, (2) genuine, and (3) understanding.
● Roger’s believed clients were able to:
○ Heal themselves
○ Find their own solutions.
○ Self-directed growth →self actualization.
● Carl Rogers would ask clients to describe their life experiences
○ 1959: introduced self-concept
○ “Organized set of perceptions of oneself”
○ Beliefs one holds of him or herself.
● Self-concept ⧣ reality
○ Incongruence (ideal self ⧣ real self)
○ Practice congruence by allowing clients to be themselves

(McLeod, 2019)
 Key Points & Concepts
● Therapist and client are:
○ equal partners
○ Not expert and patient
● Client’s responsibility:
○ change and improve
● Therapist should:
○ Be a friend or counselor
○ Listen empathetically
○ Be encouraging
○ Not solve client’s problems
○ Help client focus on their future
● Focus on the future instead of the past
○ facilitates person growth & self-actualization.
● Quality of the relationship is very important as it determines the
outcome of the therapy.

(McLeod, 2019)
 2
Techniques & Methods

Presented by Melissa Fuentes

 Techniques
● Be non-directive
● Unconditional Positive Regard
● Congruence
● Empathy
● Accept Negative Emotion
● Active Listening

(TheraPlatform, 2023)
 Methods
● Child-Centered Play Therapy (Individual and group)
Examples: Ball Play (group), Plush Doll Play (individual), Medical Play
(individual), Magic Wand Play (individual) (Selva, 2017)

● Adolescent Activity Therapy

Examples: Woodworking, sewing, crafts, simple cooking or baking
supplies, puppets, air hockey etc. (Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove,
2019, Pg.61&62)
● SandTray Therapy (Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2019)
● Talk Therapy (Adolescent and Adult) (Psychology Today,
2023)
 3
Counselor’s Role Using
Person-Centered Theory
in the School Setting
Presented by Farrah Martin
 Counselor’s Role

● Students

● Parents
Developing
● Teachers
Relationships
● Administrators

● Community Partner

(Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2018. pg.49)

 Overall Goal
All students living up to their full
potential

Valuing Academically
Understanding Behaviorally
= Socially
Connecting
Emotionally
with each individual student

(Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2018. pg.50)

 Situation of Opportunity

Student + Counselor = Relationship

● Congruent
● State of ● Person-Centered
incongruence ● Genuine
Therapy: Theory of
● State of Anxiety ● Show Unconditional Change
Positive Regard

(Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2018. pg.50)

 Person-Centered Theory:
Young Children

Understanding How do young

young children: children engage in
relationships?
- Developmental Processes

- Developmental Capabilities
Young children naturally express
themselves through play and

- Cultural Processes
behavior

(Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2018. pg.52-53)

 Person-Centered Theory:
Young Children
Counselors Reaction:
A school counselor may use
person-centered therapy with a
young child by focusing on and
understanding a young students
behavior.
Outsiders Reaction:
Someone not using
person-centred therapy with a
young child would react to the
behavior without considering the
nature of the students behavior.
 Person-Centered Theory:
Adolescents

Understanding How do
adolescents: adolescents engage
in relationships?
- Unique Developmental
Concerns Adolescents naturally base
- Importance on
needs on understanding, value,
acceptance and freedom.
Independence

- Peers

(Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2018. pg.54)

 Person-Centered Theory:
Adolescents

Counselors Reaction: Outsiders Reaction:

A school counselor may use
Someone not using
person-centered therapy with an
person-centred therapy with
adolescent by letting them lead
adolescents would use their
the conversation and provide
authority and work against the
guiding questions so they come
adolescent.
up with their own solutions.
 References
Dollarhide, C. T., & Lemberger-Truelove, M. E. (2018). Theories of School Counseling for
the 21st Century. Oxford University Press.
McLeod, S. A. (2019, Jan 07). Person-centered therapy. Simply Psychology.
www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html
Person Centered Therapy Techniques. (2023). Thera Platforms.
https://www.theraplatform.com/blog/338/person-centered-therapy-techniques
Psychology Today. (2022, July 1). Person-Centered Therapy.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/person-centered-therapy
Selva, J. (2017, July 27). 50 play therapy techniques, activities and ideas. Positive
Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/play-therapy/
 Conclusion:
5-minute role-play
 Key Methods Used in Role Play

- Unconditional positive regard

- Acceptance
- Encouraging
- Active Listening
- Non-verbal cues
- Child-Centered play therapy
- Developed relationships
- Social Potential
- Focusing on one student at a time
- If a student said going to school makes them happy, I took a mental note of why they may not have said that their
home or something with their family makes them happy. Not that it means something is wrong, but looking for
trigger words or possible red flags.