Person-centered therapy is a psychological approach that focuses on the client. It is a non-directive type of talk therapy developed during the 1940s to 1950s by Carl Rogers. It is also known as Rogerian theory. Roger believed that the way everyone manages his life should be trusted because everyone has different capabilities. Each of us has the potential to sort our problems in the best possible manner.
This therapy aims to facilitate the client to self-actualize and induce in them the concept that we all learn and grow from events according to our potential. This helps the client in personal growth and the development of relationships by exploring their identity by utilizing their powers. The therapist's role is to help the client with the necessary help in exploring personal identity and self-actualization.
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What is Person-Centered Counselling?
Person-centered therapy allows the clients to lead the discussion as it is a non-authoritative approach. During the process, the clients who face the issue discover the solution to their problems through self-actualization. The therapist's role can be considered a compassionate facilitator who listens to the client's words, does not make any judgment, and does not take the discussion in another direction. He is just there to listen and encourage the client and not interfere with exploring personal identity.
The therapist tries to create a therapeutic environment that is non-directive means they don't lead the discussion and emphasizes positive regard unconditionally by supporting without showing any judgment.
The therapist is not considered an expert in person-centred therapy. However, the client who is facing the issue is himself/ herself the expert. The therapist can only encourage clients on their journey to self-discovery to reduce their problems.
It works according to the self-actualizing theory, which says that the potential of personal fulfillment involves allowing the client to be in an environment where they are social, trusted, creative, curious, and compassionate. So, the environment during the therapy is maintained, keeping these points in mind. There are three points which assure that such an environment has been established or not.
- Whether the therapist is genuine or not.
- Whether the therapist is compassionate or not.
- Whether the therapist is judging the client or not.
When is it used?
Many factors can affect the personal growth of the person. These include low self-esteem, lack of self-dependency, and no courage to experience new things and accept life challenges. The social environment and behavior of people have a substantial impact on the personal growth of any person. So, here person-centered therapy plays its role.
Clients who face issues like the following can benefit from a person-centered approach to psychotherapy. ,/p>
- Lack of self-confidence.
- Weak sense of personal identity.
- Weak inter-personal relationships.
- Lack of trust in personal decisions.
- Strong grief
- Depression
- Anxiety problems.
- Problems with mental health.
The therapist not only helps the individuals to help them resolve their issues; they also work with groups. This therapy demands a lot of research from the client, and hence only the highly motivated clients can observe the benefits of person-centered therapy.
How it works
It works on the principle that the therapist's role is not traditional, that is, leading. Instead, the client plays the leading role in which clients learn from their own experience and heal from their problems. Three conditions determine the success of person-centred therapy.
1. Unconditional positive regardThis demands that the therapist must not judge the client. He should listen to the client and play the role of someone who brings confidence in the clients and encourages them to make decisions independently.
2. Empathetic understandingThis therapy demands that the therapist should be of understanding nature to help the client accept their feelings.
3. CongruenceCongruence means that the therapist must not play the role of a leader or an authority but allow them to have a personal identity by analyzing their emotions and thoughts.
Person-centered therapy is based on talking sessions with the clients where most of the talking is done by the client. The therapist will not judge the client, so clients can freely open up their feelings and problems in front of the client. When the client narrates his experience, he listens to his words and tries to edit them to induce perfection, and this journey of perfecting lead the client to resolve the issues. This process may happen several times until he feels that he has conveyed what he wants to be shared. For an in-depth understanding, the client may take silent pauses. This therapy is centred on facilitating the client towards the journey of self-discovery, self-identity, and self-confidence to provide the client with a positive dimension into life and the healing process.
Benefits
1. Person-centered therapy helps individuals of all age ranges, having a different kind of personality issues. Many people find it compelling because of its ability to encourage them to develop their identity without getting judged.
3. It helps the clients overcome problems like anxiety, stress issues, depression, and similar mental health issues that can affect self-confidence and self-esteem and may affect the thinking patterns. It induces self-awareness in such people.
4. It is originally a psychotherapy approach, but it also helps people build relations, especially where a powerful bonding is required, like parenting, teaching, and medical care. It also guides the day to day relationships.
5. During the session, the client is offered a safe, positive, and client-centred approach, and hence it helps the clients to
- Figure out the relationship between idealized self and real self.
- Have better self-awareness.
- A better understanding of the self.
- Develop self-trust.
- Maintain healthy relationships.
- Self-identity and better approach towards self and life.
Want to book an appointment at Evergreen Rehab and Wellness Clinic? Call us at 604-449-5859 to find the best solution. We will help you make positive changes in your life.