PERSON-CENTERED

THERAPY
ARAGA, GUBALLA, REYES, ZURBANO
THE
THERAPEUTIC
PROCESS
 To assist clients in achieving a
greater degree of independence
and integration
They must first get behind the THERAPEUTIC
mask they wear process of GOALS
socialization
 The attitudes of therapists, rather
than their knowledge, theories or
techniques, facilitates personality
change in clients THERAPISTS
FUNCTION &
Therapists use themselves as an ROLE
instrument of change by
encountering clients on a person-
to-person level.
 The therapists function is to be
present and accessible to client and
to focus on their immediate
THERAPISTS
experience.
FUNCTION &
ROLE
They must be willing to be real in
the relationship with clients.
 State of incongruence a
discrepancy exists between their self-
perception and their experience in
reality CLIENTS
Self concept = ideal self-concept EXPERIENCE IN
THERAPY
Feeling of basic helplessness,
powerlessness and an inability to
make decisions or effectively direct
their own lives.
Clients move in the direction of
being more in contact with what
they are experiencing at the present
moment. CLIENTS
EXPERIENCE IN
THERAPY
With increased freedom, they tend
to become more mature
psychologically and move toward
increased self-actualization.
 As counseling progresses, clients :
are able to explore a wider range
of beliefs and feelings CLIENTS
increasingly discover aspects EXPERIENCE IN
within themselves that had been THERAPY
kept hidden
become more realistic
REL ATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THERAPIST
AND CLIENT
CARL ROGERS
One of the founders of humanistic
approach
According to Maslow, humanism is the third
force in psychology
Characterized as a way of being and as a
shared journey in which therapist and client
reveal their humanness and participate in a
growth experience
The necessary and sufficient conditions for
therapeutic personality change

There are 6 conditions that are essential for effective counseling

No other conditions are necessary . If these six conditions exist
and continue over a period of time, this is sufficient(Rogers
Reader p221)
THERAPEUTIC CONDITIONS

1. Two persons are in psychological contact.

2. The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of incongruence, being
vulnerable or anxious.
3. The second person, whom we shall term the therapist is congruent or integrated
in the relationship, and this congruence is perceived by the client.
4. The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client.
5. The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the clients internal
frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client.
6. The communication to the client of the therapists empathic understanding and
unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved.
THERAPEUTIC CORE CONDITIONS
CONGRUENCE

Implies that therapists are real; that they are genuine, integrated, and
authentic during therapy hour
Allows the client to build a trusting relationship with the counselor
Might necessitate expressing a range of feelings
Counselors can try too hard to be genuine
It can help defeat negative attitudes
or conditions of worth that others
may have placed on the client.
UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD

Deep and genuine caring for the client as a person

Allows the client to open up and speak about their difficulties without a fear
of being criticised or judged
Caring is non possessive and is not contaminated by
evaluation or judgement of the clients feelings,
thoughts, and behavior as good or bad
ACCURATE EMPATHIC
UNDERSTANDING
Empathy
- deep and subjective understanding of the client with the client
- to recognize and feel what the client feels

Empathy helps clients

Pay attention to and value their experiencing
Process their experience both cognitively and bodily
View prior experiences in new ways
Increase their confidence in making choicesand in pursuing a course of action
Integral model of empathy in counseling
process that is based on 3 ways of
knowing:

Subjective Empathy
Enables practitioners to experience what it is like to be the
client
Interpersonal Empathy
Pertains to understanding the clients internal frame of
reference and conveying a sense of private meanings to
the person
Objective Empathy
Relies on knowledge sources outside of a clients frame of
reference
 Implies that the therapist will sense clients feelings as
if they were his or her own without becoming lost n
those feelings
Cornerstone of the person-centered approach and it is a
necessary ingredient of an effective therapy
THERAPEUTIC
TECHNIQUES
AND PRINCIPLES
EARLY EMPHASIS ON REFLECTION OF
FEELINGS
The original emphasis was on grasping the world of
the client and reflecting this understanding
The focus then shifted to placing greater emphasis
on the therapists relationship with the client
The therapists relational attitudes and
fundamental ways
of being with the client constitutes the heart of
change process
PERSON-CENTERED METHODS

Quality of the therapeutic

relationship is the primary agent of
growth in the client

Therapists are not prohibited

from suggesting techniques
THERAPISTS PRESENCE
Being completely attentive to and immersed in the
client as well as in the clients expressed concerns

Qualities and skills must be honestly expressed by

the therapist

Techniques are not attempts at doing anything

to a client
IMMEDIACY
Addressing what is going on between
the client and therapist
Encourages the use of wider variety of
methods and diversities in personal styles
among therapists
ROLE OF ASSESSMENT
Person-Centered therapists generally do
not find traditional assessment to be useful

Importance of self-assessment is highly

valued

Therapy is considered as co-assessment

APPLICATION OF PHILOSOPHY
Person-centered therapy has been shown to be as
viable as the more goal-oriented therapies

Emphasizes staying with clients rather than

getting ahead of them with interpretation

The basic concepts are straightforward and easy

to comprehend, and encourages locating power in
the person rather than denying it
APPLICATION OF PHILOSOPHY
The approach demands a great deal of
the therapist--that he/she must have a
person centered way of being
Grounded, centered, genuine,
patient, and accepting in a way that
involves maturity
APPLICATION TO CRISIS
INTERVENTION
Applicable to crisis intervention such as
unwanted pregnancy, an illness, a disastrous
event or a loss of a loved one
Sensitive listening, hearing & understanding
are essential at this point
Therapists may need to provide more
structure and direction
Suggestions, guidance, and even direction
may be called if clients cannot function
effectively