SELF THEORY CARL ROGERS

CLIENT CENTERED THERAPY Rogers called people he counseled “clients” Patient implies illness Rogers concerned with the path to self- actualization He called it “full functioning” Believed that people suffer from a conflict of: What they value in themselves What they believe others value in them Different people have different potentialities but everyone wants to reach these potentialities

CARL ROGERS Rogers is a HUMANIST

ROGERS “SELF” Definition: One’s experiences or image of oneself Essentially your image of who you are and what you value in yourself and others (and in life) “Self” is gradually acquired over many years by observing how other people react to you You want approve or POSITIVE REGARD

POSITIVE REGARD Definition: Viewing oneself in a positive light Ask yourself the following question about your boyfriend or girlfriend: “How does she see me?” If the answer is “She loves me. She likes what I am and what I do.” then you begin to develop positive regard for yourself. But what there are conditions on whether she will like you or not? “If you do what she wants, she likes you.” This is called CONDITIONAL WORTH

CONDITIONAL WORTH Definition: the conditions a person must meet in order to regard himself or herself positively You’re young and impressionable, right? You accept your significant other putting conditions on your worth By cutting off part of your being to be loved by your boyfriend/girlfriend, you are experiencing only a part of who you are

UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD Definition: Perception that individuals significant others value them for what they are, which leads the individuals to grant themselves the same favorable opinion or view Your boyfriend/girlfriend values you for what you are (and soon you’ll allow yourself to do this too). You will become FULLY FUNCTIONING

FULLY FUNCTIONING Definition: an individual whose person and self coincide The person and self are one, and you are able to develop all of your potentialities