Person-centred Therapy: The Basics

When Carl Rogers came onto the counselling scene with person-centred therapy in the middle of the 20th century, he made a big splash, as the two principal options for therapy at that time were psychodynamic and behavioural. This course traces the components of his wide contribution to counselling and other interpersonal endeavours through a look at the core components in both his theory of personality and his theory of therapy. The primacy of the therapist-counsellor relationship and the conditions necessary to achieve a solid alliance (such as Rogers’ famous qualities of congruence, empathy, and unconditional positive regard) are covered, along with the requirements for both therapist and client if the therapy would be successful; in this context we also look at goal formulation in person-centred therapy. We trace how Rogers’s personal development paralleled his development of theory in four stages, the last one broadening out person-centred approaches to many other contexts, including international peace and conflict resolution. As Rogers’s work became well known, other therapists took up the baton, continuing to develop person-centred approaches integrated with other modalities; we examine the chief contributions of those theorists. As few, if any, therapeutic approaches have not been influenced by Rogers’s thinking, this course is a “must-do” for anyone unsure of just how Rogers’s work has impacted the general field of therapy.