1. Humanıstıc / Exıstentıal Theorıes Rogers: Person-Centered Theory
Assist. Prof. Merve Topcu
PSY335
Department of Psychology, Çankaya University
, Fall

2. Carl rogers Interested in farming
‘necessary and sufficient" conditions for the optimal growth of plants and animals’
His research on the "necessary and sufficient" conditions for human psychological growth
Unlike Freud, who was primarily a theorist and secondarily a therapist, Rogers was a consummate therapist but only a reluctant theorist
"How can I help this person grow and develop?

3. RogerIan personalıty theorY
Early called his approach was known as ‘nondirective’
His approach was variously termed "client-centered," "person- centered," "student-centered’, ‘group-centered’ and ‘person to person’
Person-Centered Theory
If-then framework
Congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy

4. Basıc Assumptıons Two broad assumptions Formative Tendency
Actualizing Tendency

5. Basic Assumptions: Formative Tendency
There is a tendency for all matter, both organic and inorganic, to evolve from simpler to more complex forms
the formative tendency, the entire universe’s creative process
Human consciousness evolves from a primitive unconsciousness to a highly organized awareness

6. Basic Assumptions: Actualizing Tendency
the actualizing tendency, the tendency within all humans (and other animals and plants) to move toward completion or fulfillment of potentials
the need to satisfy one's hunger drive, to express deep emotions when they are felt, and to accept one's self are all examples of the single motive of actualization
the whole person
Physiological and intellectual, rational and emotional, conscious and unconscious

7. Basic Assumptions: Actualizing Tendency
The need for maintenance is similar to the lower steps on Maslow's hierarchy of needs
The conservative nature of maintenance needs is expressed in people's desire to protect their current, comfortable self-concept
People fight against new ideas; they distort experiences that do not quite fit; they find change painful and growth frightening
Need to become more, to develop, and to achieve growth is called enhancement
Crawling can satisfy the need for mobility, whereas walking is associated with falling and with pain
Enhancement needs are expressed in a variety of forms
Curiosity, playfulness, self-exploration, friendship, and confidence that one can achieve psychological growth

8. Basic Assumptions: Actualizing Tendency
The actualization tendency is not limited to humans
Genetic potential
A human's actualization tendency is realized only under certain conditions
people must be involved in a relationship with a partner who is congruent, or authentic, and who demonstrates empathy and unconditional positive regard
Rogers contended that whenever congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathy are present in a relationship, psychological growth will invariably occur
both necessary and sufficient conditions for becoming a fully functioning or self-actualizing person

9. The Self and Self-Actualızatıon
infants begin to develop a vague concept of self
Infants gradually become aware of their own identity by experience
Once infants establish a rudimentary self structure, their tendency to actualize the self begins to evolve
Self-actualization & Actualization tendency
Self-actualization is a subset of the actualization tendency
Actualization tendency refers to organismic experiences of the individual
It refers to the whole person-conscious and unconscious, physiological and cognitive
Self-actualization is the tendency to actualize the self as perceived in awareness
When the organism and the perceived self are in harmony, the two actualization tendencies are nearly identical; but when people's organismic experiences are not in harmony with their view of self, a discrepancy exists between the actualization tendency and the self- actualization tendency

10. The self-concept
Two self subsystems
the self-concept
the ideal self

11. The self-concept
All those aspects of one's being and one's experiences that are perceived in awareness
May not always be accurate
The self-concept is not identical with the organismic self
Unless it malfunctions and causes concern, it is not likely to be part of one's self-concept
Experiences that are inconsistent with their self-concept usually are either denied or accepted only in distorted forms
Change most readily occurs in an atmosphere of acceptance by others
allows a person to reduce anxiety and threat and to take ownership of previously rejected experiences

12. The Ideal self One's view of self as one wishes to be
A wide gap between the ideal self and the self-concept indicates incongruence and an unhealthy personality
Little discrepancy between their self-concept & ideal self in psychologically healthy people

13. awareness
Without awareness the self-concept and the ideal self would not exist
Awareness as "the symbolic representation of some portion of ow experience«
Used the term synonymously with both consciousness and symbolization
Levels of Awareness
Three levels of awareness
events are experienced below the threshold of awareness and are either ignored or denied
experiences are accurately symbolized and freely admitted to the self-structure
experiences that are perceived in a distorted form

14. Becomıng a Person
An individual must make contact-positive or negative-with another person
from a parent or other caregiver
Regarding
value positive regard and devalue negative regard
Positive regard is a prerequisite for positive self-regard
the experience of prizing or valuing one's self
once positive self-regard is established, it becomes independent of the continual need to be loved
the person then "becomes in a sense his [or her] own significant social other"

15. Barrıers to Psychologıcal Health
Not everyone becomes a psychologically healthy person. Rather, most people experience conditions of worth, incongruence, defensiveness, and disorganization
Worth
Conditonal
they perceive that their parents, peers, or partners love and accept them only if they meet those people's expectations and approval
believe others’ appraisals of others that are consistent with own negative view of self, ignore our own sensory and visceral perceptions, and gradually become estranged from ow real or organismic self
look for direction and guidance
Our perceptions of other people's view of us are called external evaluations
As a result, we experience incongruence

16. Barrıers to Psychologıcal Health
Incongruence
the organism and the self are two separate entities that may or may not be congruent with one another
actualization refers to the organism's tendency to move toward fulfillment
self-actualization is the desire of the perceived self to reach fulfillment
Psychological disequilibrium begins when we fail to recognize ow organismic experiences as self-experiences
Incongruence between our self-concept and our organismic experience is the source of psychological disorders
Sometimes we behave in ways that maintain or enhance our actualizing tendency, and at other times, we may behave in a manner designed to maintain or enhance a self-concept founded on other people's expectations and evaluations of us

17. Barrıers to Psychologıcal Health
People are vulnerable when they are unaware of the discrepancy between their organismic self and their significant experience
Vulnerability exists when we have no awareness of the incongruence within our self
Anxiety & threat are experienced as we gain awareness of such an incongruence
anxiety as "a state of uneasiness or tension whose cause is unknown’
As we become more aware of the incongruence between our organismic experience and ow perception of self, our anxiety begins to evolve into threat

18. Barrıers to Psychologıcal Health
Defensiveness
In order to prevent this inconsistency between ow organismic experience and our perceived self, we react in a defensive manner
the protection of the self-concept against anxiety and threat by the denial or distortion of experiences inconsistent with it
The two chief defenses are distortion & denial
With distortion, we misinterpret an experience in order to fit it into some aspect of our self-concept
fail to understand its true meaning of the experience
Denial, refuse to perceive an experience in awareness, or at least we keep some aspect of it from reaching symbolization
Ignore or block out experiences that otherwise would cause unpleasant anxiety or threat

19. Barrıers to Psychologıcal Health
Disorganization
Sometimes defenses fail and behavior becomes disorganized or psychotic
Normal defensive behavior, a discrepancy between people's organismic experience and their view of self
When the incongruence between people's perceived self and their organismic experience is either too obvious or occurs too suddenly to be denied or distorted, their behavior becomes disorganized
Psychological maladjustment is due to discrepancy

20. psychotherapy
Client-centered therapy is deceptively simple in statement but decidedly difficult in practice
in order for vulnerable or anxious people to grow psychologically, they must come into contact with a therapist who is congruent and whom they perceive as providing an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance and accurate empathy
If the conditions of therapist congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathic listening are present in a client-counselor relationship, then the process of therapy will transpire

21. psychotherapy Conditions
the conditions of counselor congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathic listening are both necessary and sufficient
congruence is more basic than either unconditional positive regard or empathic listening

22. psychotherapy Counselor Congruence
Congruence exists when a person's organismic experiences are matched by an awareness of them and by an ability and willingness to openly express these feelings (Rogers, 1980).
A congruent therapist, therefore, is not passive, not aloof, and definitely not "nondirective.«
they are constantly exposed to new organismic experiences, but unlike most people, they accept these experiences into awareness, which contributes to their psychological growth
wear no mask, do not attempt to fake a pleasant facade, and avoid any pretense of friendliness and affection when these emotions are not truly felt
match feelings with awareness and both with honest expression

23. psychotherapy Counselor Congruence (cont’d)
Congruence involves
Feelings
Awareness
Expression
Incongruence can arise from either of the two points dividing these three experiences
there can be a breakdown between feelings and awareness
a discrepancy between awareness of an experience and the ability or willingness to express it to another
Rogers (1980) did not believe that it is necessary for a therapist to be congruent in all relationships outside the therapeutic process

24. psychotherapy Unconditional Positive Regard
Positive regard is the need to be liked, prized, or accepted by another person
The attitude is without possessiveness, without evaluations, and without reservations.
nonpossessive warmth means to care about another without smothering or owning that person
"Because I care about you, I can permit you to be autonomous and independent of my evaluations and restrictions. You are a separate person with your own feelings and opinions regarding what is right or wrong. The fact that I care for you does not mean that I must guide you in making choices, but that I can allow you to be yourself and to decide what is best for you."

25. psychotherapy Unconditional Positive Regard (cont’d)
External evaluation, whether positive or negative, leads to clients' defensiveness and prevents psychological growth
"Regard" means that there is a close relationship and that the
therapist sees the client as an important person;
"positive" indicates that the direction of the relationship is toward warm and caring feelings;
"unconditional" suggests that the positive regard is no longer dependent on specific client behaviors and does not have to be continually earned

26. psychotherapy Empathic Listening
Empathy exists when therapists accurately sense the feelings of their clients and are able to communicate these perceptions so that clients know that another person has entered their world of feelings without prejudice, projection, or evaluation.
Empathy does not involve interpreting clients' meanings or uncovering their unconscious feelings
Client-centered therapists do not take empathy for granted; they check the accuracy of their sensings by trying them out on the client
Empathy should not be confused with sympathy.
Self-pity
The feelings belong to the client, not the therapist.

27. psychotherapy Process Stages of Therapeutic Change
If the conditions of therapist congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathy are present, then the process of therapeutic change will be set in motion
Stages of Therapeutic Change
The process of constructive personality change can be placed on a continuum from most defensive to most integrated.
7 stages

28. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage I
characterized by an unwillingness to communicate anything about oneself.
People at this stage ordinarily do not seek help,
but if for some reason they come to therapy, they are extremely rigid and resistant to change.
They do not recognize any problems and refuse to own any personal feelings or emotions.

29. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage II
Clients become slightly less rigid.
They discuss external events and other people, but they still disown or fail to recognize their own feelings.
However, they may talk about personal feelings as if such feelings were objective phenomena.

30. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage III
They more freely talk about self, although still as an object.
"I'm doing the best I can at work, but my boss still doesn't like me.«
Clients talk about feelings and emotions in the past or future tense and avoid present feelings.
They refuse to accept their emotions, keep personal feelings at a distance from the here-and-now situation,
Only vaguely perceive that they can make personal choices, and deny individual responsibility for most of their decisions.

31. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage IV
Begin to talk of deep feelings but not ones presently felt.
"I was really burned up when my teacher accused me of cheating."
When clients do express present feelings, they are usually surprised by this expression.
They deny or distort experiences, although they may have some dim recognition that they are capable of feeling emotions in the present.
They begin to question some values that have been introjected from others, and they start to see the incongruence between their perceived self and their organismic experience.
They accept more freedom and responsibility than they did in Stage III
begin to tentatively allow themselves to become involved in a relationship with the therapist.

32. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage V
they have begun to undergo significant change and growth.
They can express feelings in the present, although they have not yet accurately symbolized those feelings.
They are beginning to rely on an internal locus of evaluation for their feelings and to make fresh and new discoveries about themselves.
They also experience a greater differentiation of feelings and develop more appreciation for nuances among them.
In addition, they begin to make their own decisions and to accept responsibility for their choices.

33. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage VI
Experience dramatic growth and an irreversible movement toward becoming fully functioning or self-actualizing.
They freely allow into awareness those experiences that they had previously denied or distorted.
They become more congruent and are able to match their present experiences with awareness and with open expression.
They no longer evaluate their own behavior from an external viewpoint but rely on their organismic self as the criterion for evaluating experiences.
They begin to develop unconditional self-regard, which means that they have a feeling of genuine caring and affection for the person they are becoming.
Physiological loosening
People experience their whole organismic self, as their muscles relax, tears flow, circulation improves, and physical symptoms disappear.

34. Stages of Therapeutıc Change
Stage VII
Stage VII can occur outside the therapeutic encounter,
because growth at Stage VI seems to be irreversible.
Clients who reach Stage 7 become fully functioning persons of tomorrow
able to generalize their in-therapy experiences to their world beyond therapy.
possess the confidence to be themselves at all times, to own and to feel deeply the totality of their experiences, and to live those experiences in the present.
Their organismic self, now unified with the self-concept, becomes the locus for evaluating their experiences.
receive pleasure in knowing that these evaluations are fluid and that change and growth will continue.
They become congruent, possess unconditional positive self-regard, and are able to be loving and empathic toward others.

35. psychotherapy
What theoretical formulation can explain the dynamics of therapeutic change?
When persons come to experience themselves as prized and unconditionally accepted, they realize, perhaps for the first time, that they are lovable.
As clients perceive that they are emphatically understood, they are freed to listen to themselves more accurately, to have empathy for their own feelings
Their perceived self becomes more congruent with their organismic experiences.
they become their own therapist

36. psychotherapy Outcomes
If the process of therapeutic change is set in motion, then certain observable outcomes can be expected.
a congruent client who is less defensive and more open to experience
Each of the remaining outcomes is a logical extension of this basic one.
better able to assimilate experiences into the self on the symbolic level
more effective in solving problems
have a higher level of positive self-regard
Experience less physiological and psychological tension
less vulnerable to threat
have less anxiety
feel sufficiently safe to take ownership of an increasing number of their experiences and comfortable enough with themselves to lessen their need for denial and distortion.

38. The Person of Tomorrow
If the three necessary and sufficient therapeutic conditions of congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy are optimal, then what kind of person would emerge?
more adaptable
open to their experiences
trust in their organismic selves
live fully in the moment
harmonious relations with others
more integrated
basic trust of human nature
enjoy a greater richness in life

39. Phılosophy of Scıence
Science begins and ends with the subjective experience, although everything in between must be objective and empirical
Scientists must have many of the characteristics of the person of tomorrow
they must be inclined to look within
to be in tune with internal feelings and values
to be intuitive and creative
to be open to experiences
to welcome change
to have a fresh outlook
to possess a solid trust in themselves
Precise methods prevent the scientist from self-deception and from intentionally or unintentionally manipulating the observations.
The Chicago Studies
Aims to investigate both the process and the outcomes of client-centered therapy