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THE CLIENT-CENTERED

THERAPY

By,
M. Komalavalli
T. Siva Letchumi
ORIGIN

O Developed in 1940s as an innovative alternative to


psychoanalysis- by Carl Rogers
O Antedated during the strong movement toward behavior
therapy that took place in the 50s and humanistic
revolution of 60s
O Rogers challenged belief that clients cannot
understand & resolve their own problems with direct
help from experts
O He questioned focus on problems rather than on
people in therapy
DEFINITION

Person-centered therapy, which is also known as client-


centered, non-directive, or Rogerian therapy, is an approach
to counseling and psychotherapy that places much of the
responsibility for the treatment process on the client, with
the therapist taking a nondirective role.
OBJECTIVE OF THERAPY

The primary objective of the therapy is to


resolve the incongruence of the clients to
help them able to accept and be themselves
PURPOSE

O To foster in clients, a closer agreement between the


client's idealized and actual selves; better self-
understanding

O To lower levels of defensiveness, guilt, and insecurity

O To foster more positive and comfortable relationships


with others and an increased capacity to experience and
express feelings at the moment they occur.
CONCEPT OF SELF

O Acc to Rogers, self is an outgrowth of what


a person experiences and awareness of self
helps a person differentiate him/her from
others.
O Real self and ideal self
O The more is the gap b/w real self and ideal
self, the more will be the maladjustment.
O For a healthy self to emerge, a person needs
positive regard
MAIN COMPONENTS

O CONGRUENCE:- refers to the therapist's


openness and genuineness-the willingness to
relate to clients without hiding behind a
professional facade.

O UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD:- means


that the therapist accepts the client totally for
who he or she is without evaluating or censoring,
and without disapproving of particular feelings,
actions, or characteristics
Cont

O EMPATHY:- Showing an emotional


understanding of and sensitivity to the
client's feelings throughout the therapy
session.
SIX CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR
THERAPEUTIC CHANGE:

O Therapist-Client Psychological Contact: a


relationship between client and therapist
O Client incongruence: that incongruence
exists between the client's experience and
awareness, their being vulnerable and
anxious
O Therapist Congruence: the therapist is
congruent within the therapeutic
relationship
Cont..

O Therapist Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR):


the therapist accepts the client unconditionally,
without judgment, disapproval or approval
O Therapist Empathic understanding: the therapist
experiences an empathic understanding of the
client's internal frame of reference
O Client Perception: that the client perceives, at to
a minimal degree, the therapist's UPR and
empathic understanding
PROCESS OF THERAPY

O Clients communications about externals &


not self
O Client describes feelings but not recognize
or own them personally
O Client talks about self as an object in terms
of past experiences
O Client experiences feelings in present-just
describes them with distrust & fear
Cont

O Client experiences & expresses feelings


freely in present-feelings bubble up
O Client accepts own feelings in immediacy &
richness
O Client trusts new experiences & relates to
others openly & freely
THE THERAPISTS SHOULD

O Listen and try to understand how things are


from the client's point of view.
O Check that understanding with the client if
unsure.
O Treat the client with the utmost respect and
regard.
O There is also a mandate for the therapist to
be "congruent", or "transparent"
Cont..

O Focuses on the quality of the therapeutic


relationship
O Serves as a model of a human being
struggling toward greater realness
O Is genuine, integrated, and authentic,
without a false front
O Can openly express feelings and attitudes
that are present in the relationship with the
client
Techniques used

O Listening
O Accepting
O Respecting
O Understanding
O Responding
APPLICATIONS

O Used to treat a broad range of people


O People with schizophrenia
O Persons suffering from depression, anxiety,
alcohol disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and
personality disorders
O Can be used in individual, group, or family
therapy
FREQUENCY OF THERAPY

O No strict guidelines
O Usually therapists adhere to a one-hour
session once per week
O Scheduling may be adjusted according to
the client's expressed needs
O Termination usually occurs when he or she
feels able to better cope with life's
difficulties
EXPECTED RESULTS

O Improved self-esteem
O Trust in one's inner feelings and experiences as valuable
sources of information for making decisions
O Increased ability to learn from (rather than repeating)
mistakes
O Decreased defensiveness, guilt, and insecurity; more
positive and comfortable relationships with others
O An increased capacity to experience and express
feelings at the moment they occur; and openness to
new experiences and new ways of thinking about life
CONCLUSION

Pure client centered psycho therapy as


originally practiced is rarely used today. But
it opened the way for a variety of
humanistically oriented therapies in which
focus is the clients present conscious
problems and in which it is assumed that
the client is the primary actor in the curative
process, with the therapist essentially being
the facilitator.
THANK YOU!!!

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