Person-Centred Counselling by John Payne

According to the humanistic theory of Carl Rogers humans, in common with other organisms, have an actualising tendency: an innate drive to fulfil their genetic potential. Furthermore, humans, like other organisms, have an organismic valuing process, which enables them to make decisions about what will support that actualising tendency. Thus their natural locus of evaluation is internal. An individual is then able to judge their behaviour and developmental progress according to his or her own values. If, through conditioning, an individual learns to judge his or her own behaviour according to the values of others, then their locus of evaluation shifts externally and conditions of worth are imposed.  Rogers asserts that this conflict of values is a major source of anxiety and loss of self-esteem.

Person-centred counselling, as developed by Rogers, aims to enable the client to re-establish their internal locus of evaluation and consequently regain their sense of self-worth. This is achieved by establishing a therapeutic relationship between client and counsellor in which the client feels safe to express and explore feelings and patterns of behaviour. In doing this they are offered unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding and congruence from the counsellor. Once the client’s own values are recognised and reasserted he or she can take appropriate decisions for well-being and growth.

When Rogers proposed his necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic change he made a significant departure from the existing approaches to counselling therapy.  He observed that by fostering a relational depth with a client, in particular by offering and demonstrating the three essential core conditions of empathy, congruence and positive regard, the client would experience therapeutic benefit. The role of the counsellor was changed from expert and adviser to skilled listener and understanding fellow human.

These aims will be the same in person-centred counselling no matter what the nature of the client’s problems. A person-centred counsellor working with a client who has an obese condition (for example)  will not be specifically addressing obesity, but forming a therapeutic relationship with the client in the same way as with any other. The client will then seek to change their own behaviour in accordance with their new sense of self. If necessary, this new behaviour will include dietary and/or exercise changes to promote health and well-being.

Copyright 2009 John Payne | www.talktothebody.co.uk