If you were a therapist, would you

be able to give unconditional

positive regard to your client who
committed heinous acts like
murder or rape?

Could you still exude

unconditional positive regard for
that client?

What difficulties you might face in

the process?

In your opinion, is it okay to give

unconditional positive regard to
such people?
 Person
Centered
Therapy
Chapter 9
Carl Rogers
Rogers’s basic assumptions are that
people are essentially trustworthy, that
they have a vast potential for
understanding themselves and resolving
their own problems without direct
intervention on the therapist’s part, and
that they are capable of self-directed
growth if they are involved in a specific
kind of therapeutic relationship. From the
beginning, Rogers emphasized the
attitudes and personal characteristics of
the therapist and the quality of the client–
therapist relationship work as the prime
determinants of the outcome of the
therapeutic process.
o Based on concepts of humanistic psychology brought to
the US by Jews fleeing the Nazis.

o Was developed as non-directive counseling

o In reaction to the directedness of psychoanalytic theory

o Falls into what has been termed the third force in therapy

o An alternative to both psychoanalysis and behaviorism

 Existentialism & Humanism
Similarities

They share respect for the

client’s subjective experience
They possess the trust in the
capacity of the client to make
positive and constructive
conscious choices
They appreciate uniqueness
and individuality of each client
They put common emphasis on
concepts such as freedom, choice,
values, personal responsibility,
Both approaches place little value autonomy, purpose, and meaning
on the role of techniques in the
therapeutic process and
emphasize instead the importance
of genuine encounter.
 Difference

existentialism assumes people

humanism assumes people are are neither good nor bad (human
basically good nature has no inherent quality)

◎Humanists believe each person has

◎Existentialists believe that, as
a natural potential that we can
humans, we are faced with the
actualize and through which we can
anxiety of choosing to create an
find meaning
identity in a world that lacks intrinsic
meaning
 ✔ Rogers firmly maintained that
Key Concepts 01 people are trustworthy,
resourceful, capable of self-
understanding and self-
direction, able to make
View of Human Nature constructive changes, and
able to live effective and
productive lives
✔ Rogers maintained that three
therapist attributes create a
growth-promoting climate in
03 which individuals can move
forward and become what
they are capable of
becoming:
✔ congruence (genuineness, or
realness),
✔ unconditional positive regard
(acceptance and caring),
✔ accurate empathic
understanding (an ability to
deeply grasp the subjective
world of another person).
✔ When therapists are able to
02 experience and communicate
their realness, support,
caring, and nonjudgmental
understanding, significant
changes in the client are most
likely to occur.
.
✔ The actualizing tendency is a
directional process of striving
toward realization, fulfillment,
04 autonomy, and self-determination.
✔ Because of the belief that the
individual has an inherent capacity
to move away from maladjustment
and toward psychological health
and growth, the therapist places
the primary responsibility on the
client.
✔ The person-centered approach
emphasizes clients’ abilities to
engage their own resources to act
in their world with others
The Therapeutic
Process
 Therapeutic Goals
Rogers did not believe the goal of
therapy was merely to solve problems.
The goal is to assist clients in
achieving a greater degree of
independence and integration so they
can better cope with problems as they
identify them
Before clients are able to work toward
that goal, they must first get behind the
masks they wear, which they develop
through the process of socialization.
Clients come to recognize that they
have lost contact with themselves by
using facades. In a climate of safety in
the therapeutic session, they also
come to realize that there are more
authentic ways of being.
The therapist does not choose specific
goals for the client. The cornerstone of
person-centered theory is the view that
clients in a relationship with a
facilitating therapist have the capacity
to define and clarify their own goals.
 View of Pathology

Clients come to therapy Feel sense of

in a state of helplessness and
incongruence powerlessness toward
(discrepancy between making appropriate
self-perception and their decisions to direct their
experience in reality) own life
with resultant anxiety

Since the drive toward higher

levels of psychological
maturity are deeply rooted,
person-centered therapy can
be effective with normal and
maladjusted persons
Therapeutic Objectives
01 Congruence

02 Increased trust in self

03 Increased willingness to explore

alternatives

04 Increased Personal Resources

Therapist’s Function
and Role
⮚ To establish a therapeutic climate (i.e., congruence,
empathy, unconditional positive regard) that facilitates
growth and change.

⮚ Clients should be able to:

⮚ Feel understood and accepted without judgment
⮚ Lower their defenses to self-exploration and feel
more open to experience
⮚ Discover hidden aspects of themselves
⮚ Become more realistic
⮚ Perceive others with greater accuracy
Client’s
Experience in
Therapy With therapy, people distort less and
move to a greater acceptance and
integration of conflicting and confusing
feelings. They increasingly discover
aspects within themselves that had been
kept hidden. As clients feel understood
and accepted, they become less
defensive and become more open to
their experience
They become less concerned about meeting others’
expectations, and thus begin to behave in ways that are
truer to themselves. These individuals direct their own lives
instead of looking outside of themselves for answers.
They move in the direction of being more in contact with
what they are experiencing at the present moment, less
bound by the past, less determined, freer to make
decisions, and increasingly trusting in themselves to
manage their own lives.
As counseling progresses, clients are
able to explore a wider range of beliefs
and feelings. They can express their
fears, anxiety, guilt, shame, hatred,
anger, and other emotions that they had
deemed too negative to accept and
incorporate into their self-structure.
Because they feel safer and are less
vulnerable, they become more realistic,
perceive others with greater accuracy,
and become better able to understand
and accept others. Individuals in therapy
come to appreciate themselves more as
they are, and their behavior shows more
flexibility and creativity.
Their experience in therapy is like
throwing off the self-imposed shackles
that had kept them in a psychological
prison. With increased freedom, they
tend to become more mature
psychologically and move toward
increased self-actualization
Relationship between Therapist &
Client
Two persons are in psychological contact

The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of

incongruence, being vulnerable or anxious.

The second person, whom we term the therapist, is

congruent (real or genuine) in the relationship, and this
congruence is perceived by the client

The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard

for the client.

The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of

the client’s internal frame of reference and endeavors to
communicate this experience to the client.
 Therapeutic Core Conditions
Rogers hypothesized that no other
conditions were necessary. If the
therapeutic core conditions exist
over some period of time,
constructive personality change will
occur. The core conditions do not
vary according to client type. Further,
they are both necessary and
sufficient for therapeutic change to
occur
Congruence
Congruence implies that
therapists are real; that is, they
are genuine, integrated, and
authentic during the therapy
hour. They are without a false
front, their inner experience
and outer expression of that
experience match, and they
can openly express feelings,
thoughts, reactions, and
attitudes that are present in the
relationship with the client
Unconditional Positive
Regard and
Empathic
Acceptance Understanding
Empathy is a deep and subjective
understanding of the client with the
client.
Unconditional positive regard Ways to improve Empathy:
mean offering compassion to people 1. Active Listening
even if they have done something 2. Understanding Emotions
wrong. A therapist practicing 3. Accept client’s interpretations
unconditional positive regard would 4. Restate the problem
respond with compassion to a person in 5. Ask permission to move forward
treatment who may have gambled away
their savings, lied at work, or mistreated
a friend.
Congruence
Unconditional
Positive
Regard
 Active Listening means being deeply engaged in and attentive to what the
client is saying. It requires far more listening than talking. Your goal as an
Active active listener is to truly understand the client’s perspective (regardless of

Listening whether you agree) and to communicate that understanding back to the
client so that he or she can confirm the accuracy of your understanding.

There are three primary aspects of active listening:

Comprehending – In the comprehension stage of listening, the therapist
actively analyzes and listens to what the client is saying without
distraction or thoughts about other topics.
Retaining – Retaining requires the listener to remember what the client
has said so that the client’s full message can be conveyed. Some people
may opt to take notes or use memory tricks when practicing active
listening.
Responding – Responding is the act of providing both verbal and
nonverbal feedback to the client that indicates the therapist is both
hearing and understanding what the client has said.
 Active Listening Techniques
Paraphrasing Example Responses

Restate the same information, What I’m hearing is...”

using different words to more • “Sounds like you are saying...”
concisely reflect what the client • “I’m not sure I’m with you but...
said. • If I’m hearing you correctly....
• So, as you see it...
• It sounds like what’s most
important to you is . . .

Why do it?

Tests your understanding of what is heard by communicating your

understanding of what the client said. Allows the client to 'hear' and
focus on his or her own thoughts. Allows the client to see that you are
trying to understand his/her message and perceptions. Encourages
the client to continue speaking.
 Why do it?

Gives the client the opportunity to

elaborate and clarify what was
Clarifying
said.
Gives you the opportunity to
identify anything that is unclear
Invite the client to explain and to check the accuracy of your
some aspect of what she or understanding
he said.
This can be done by asking
open / closed ended
questions.
Example Responses

I am not sure I quite understand;

or do
you mean that...?
• Can you say more about . . . ?
• You have given me a lot of
information, let me see if I’ve got
it
all...”
 Reflecting

Relaying what was said back

to the client to show that you
Example Responses
understand how he/she feels
about something.
Why do it?
Deepens understanding of
feelings and content.
Allows the client to see that
you are trying to understand
his/her feelings and
perceptions.
“I get the sense that you might be
feeling afraid about what might
happen if . . . “
• To me, it sounds like you are
frustrated
about what was said, but I am
wondering if you are also feeling a
little hurt by it.”
• It seems like you felt confused and
worried when that happened.”
• “So, you’re saying that you were
feeling more frightened than angry.”
Summarization

Identify, connect, and

integrate key ideas and
feelings in
Why do it?
what the speaker said.
Helps both listener and
speaker identify what is
most important to the
client.

Example Responses
Let me summarize what I heard so far.
...
• So, on one the hand... but on the other
hand . . .
• I think I’ve heard several things that
seem to be important to you,
first____, second, second_____,
third______.”
• “It sounds like there are two things
really matter most to you . . . “
Here is an example of a conversation in which several different active listening techniques are
used.

Lisa: I'm sorry to dump this on you, but I had a fight with my sister, and we haven't spoken
since. I'm upset and don't know who to talk to.
Therapist: No problem! Tell me more about what happened.

Lisa: Well, we were arguing about what to do for our parents' anniversary. I'm still so angry.
Therapist: Oh that's tough. You sound upset that you're not speaking because of it.

Lisa: Yes, she just makes me so angry. She assumed I would help her plan this elaborate party—
I don't have time! It's like she couldn't see things from my perspective at all.
Therapist: Wow, that's too bad. How did that make you feel?

Lisa: Frustrated. Angry. Maybe a bit guilty that she had all these plans, and I was the one
holding them back. Finally, I told her to do it without me. But that's not right, either.
Therapist: What I am hearing is that you are in guilt because of this event.
Self Development Folder Assignment

Unconditional Positive Regard Situations.

How would you show unconditional Positive regard in following
situations: Write your answers in 2-3 lines.

1.when your child has misbehaved

2.when your partner is arguing with you
3.when your employees are not working up to the mark
4.when your client is yet again in your session after going through a
tough phase with a toxic partner for the 17th time.
THANK YOU