1. Current Psychotherapies Humanism and Person-Centered Therapy
Rebecca Lawthom

2. Who can we thank for the Humanistic Theory?
Carl Ransom Rogers ( )-
American theorist most closely associated with the humanistic theory. Some times called “The Founder of Humanism.”

3. Abraham Maslow ( )
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and attended University of Wiscosin.
Also one of the found fathers of the Humanistic theory.

4. What defines the Humanistic Theory ?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
People are inherently good and try to make morally right decisions.
Perceptions of your experiences is a result of your own view rather than environment.
Focus on “self”, the individual. Nurture over nature.
Decisions are goal-oriented , and organism has a natural tendency to strive, actualize and enhance individual’s experience.
This idea of a human’s journey to self actualization is best described in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

6. Key Points and Terms Developed by Carl Rogers.
Also termed Client-Centered.
Humanistic, or Phenomenological Therapy
The person is viewed as creative, responsible, developing individual
By providing a therapeutic atmosphere which is real, caring, and non-judgmental the person can develop their full potential

7. Challenges PC challenges:
The assumption that “the counsellor knows best”
The validity of advice, suggestion, persuasion, teaching, diagnosis, and interpretation
The belief that clients cannot understand and resolve their own problems without direct help
The focus on problems over persons

8. Emphasizes Emphasizes: Therapy as a journey shared by two people
The person’s innate striving for self-actualization
The personal characteristics of the therapist
The quality of the therapeutic relationship

9. Emphasizes Emphasizes:
The counsellor’s creation of a permissive, “growth promoting” climate
People are capable of self-directed growth if involved in a therapeutic relationship
Person-Centered Therapy is a form of humanistic therapy

10. Roger’s Basic Assumptions
Rogers believed in an actualizing tendency in all human beings
Represented movement towards the realization of the individual’s full potential
Viewed as part of a formative tendency
Formative tendency represents movement toward order, complexity and interrelatedness
Seen across aspects of nature including the stars, crystals, microorganisms and humans

11. Basic Requirements for the Therapeutic Environment (Therapist)
Genuineness/Congruence
Correspondence between the therapist’s thoughts and their behavior
Unconditional Positive Regard
Therapist’s regard/attitude remains unaltered regardless of the client’s choices
Empathy
Profound interest and care for the client’s perceptions and feelings

12. Basic Requirements for the Therapeutic Environment (Client)
Self-concept
At therapy onset, self regard/self-esteem often low
Improvement correlated with success in therapy
Locus-of-Evaluation
At therapy onset, focus on what others think
Progress associated with internal locus-of-evaluation
Experiencing
At therapy onset, rigid
Success related to flexibility

13. Distinctive Components of Person-Centered Therapy
Therapist’s attitude can be necessary AND sufficient conditions for change
Therapist needs to be immediately present and accessible to clients

14. Distinctive Components of Person-Centered Therapy
Intensive, continuous focus on client's phenomenological world
Process marked by client’s ability to live fully in the moment
Focus on personality change, not structure of personality

15. Comparing Person-Centered Therapy with Psychoanalysis
Language – Common Sense (PC)
Esoteric (Psychoanalysis)
How to
Understand
The individual – Subjective Interpersonal (PC)
Objective intrapersonal (Psychoanalysis)
Emphasis – Purpose (PC)
Causality (Psychoanalysis)
Characterization
Of the individual – Holistic (PC)
Reductionistic (Psychoanalysis)
View of Human
Nature – People are basically good (PC)
People are bad (Psychoanalysis)

16. Comparing Person-Centered Therapy with Psychoanalysis
Role of
Therapist – Facilitate self discovery (PC)
Interpretation for the pt (Psychoanalysis)
View of
Transference – Not central to the client’s ability to change (PC)
Fundamental to the change process (Psychoanalysis)
Presentation
Of Therapist – A caring person who is willing to listen (PC)
Authority, teacher (Psychoanalysis)

17. Difference between PC Therapist and Behavior Therapist
PC would argue that behavioral changes occur through internal factors whereas behavioral therapy sees behavior changing through external factors.

18. History of PC Therapy Carl Rogers was born 1902, Oak Park Illinois
Family emphasized strong work ethic, responsibility and the fundamentals of religion.
Graduated 1924 from University of Wisconsin
Started at the Union Theological Seminary then transferred to Teacher’s College, Columbia University
Worked for 12 years at a Child-Guidance Center
In 1939 published Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child
Offered professorship at Ohio State University
1940 Rogers presented Some Newer concepts in Psychotherapy at the University of Minnesota (viewed by most as the birth of Client-Centered Therapy)
Published Counseling and Psychotherapy in 1942
During WWII served as Director of Counseling Services for the US Organizations
Served as head of University of Chicago Counseling Center (12 years)
In 1957, Rogers published classic paper on “necessary and sufficient conditions” for therapy.
Rogers died in 1987

19. Current Status of PC Therapy
Special interest of Rogers was application of his theory to international relationships
Since 1982 Biennial International Forums on PC approach
Workshops at Warm Springs
Person-Centered Review began to be published in 1986 (renamed The Person-Centered Journal)

20. Theory of Personality 19 Propositions
1. Individual is center of a continually changing world of experience
2. Organism reacts based on their reality
3. Organism reacts as an organized whole
4. Organism has one basic tendency – actualization
5. Behavior is goal directed based on perception of reality
6. Emotion accompanies and facilitates goal directed behavior

21. Theory of Personality 19 Propositions
7. Best point to understand behavior is from the individual’s frame of reference
8. Part of the perceptual field is differentiated as the self
9. Self is formed through interaction
10. Values come from experience and introjection from others

22. Theory of Personality 19 Propositions
11. Experiences are integrated, ignored, or denied
12. Behavior is generally consistent with self concept
13. Behaviors inconsistent with self concept can occur but are seen as “not owned”
14. Psychological maladjustment comes from denied experiences

23. Theory of Personality 19 Propositions
15. Psychological adjustment occurs when experiences are assimilated
16. Experiences inconsistent with self-concept are perceived as threats
17. Under the right conditions inconsistent experiences can be examined/assimilated

24. Theory of Personality 19 Propositions
18. When the individual integrates in all of their experiences they are more understanding of others
19. As experiences are integrated an internal locus-of-evaluation develops

25. Roger’s Theory of Personality Summarized
Behavior is best understood through the individual’s reality (perception of experiences)
For social purposes, reality is defined as common perceptions across individuals
Personal growth occurs through decreased defensiveness

26. Roger’s Theory of Personality Summarized
Self actualization is the organism’s one, basic tendency (Rogers believed an organism has one basic tendency and striving which is to actualize, maintain and enhance the experiencing organism

27. Roger’s Theory of Personality Summarized
Experiences inconsistent with self concept are threats leading to increased rigidity
Therapy allows the individual to accept and integrate all of their experiences
In Roger's personality theory, behavior is defined as a goal directed attempt to satisfy an organism's needs

28. Other Concepts
Experience is the private world of the individual
Reality basically refers to the private perceptions of the individual; For social purposes, reality consists of perceptions that have a high degree of commonality among individuals

29. Other Concepts Self is the organized gestalt of “I” and “me”
According to Rogers, the center of an individual's world of experience is the individual
The process by which an individual becomes aware of an experience is known as symbolization

30. Other Concepts
In ambiguous situations individuals tend to symbolize experiences in a manner consistent with self concept
Carl Rogers would view neurosis as the result of incongruence between the real self and the ideal self.
All humans had an actualizing tendency, which he saw as a part of the formative tendency of the world

31. Rogerian View of Psychotherapy
Implied Therapeutic Conditions
Client and therapist must be in psychological contact
Client must experience distress
Client must be willing to receive conditions offered by therapist

32. Process of PC Therapy Therapy begins at first contact
In the first interview, a person centered therapist will go where the client goes
For Carl Rogers, empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence (genuineness) were the 3 basic requirements to create a therapeutic environment

33. Process of PC Therapy Respect shown immediately for client
In addition to the basic requirements of the therapeutic environment for the therapist, Rogers believed the client must focus on self-concept, locus-of-evaluation and experiencing
Therapy’s length is determined by client (In person centered therapy termination is decided by the client)

34. Process of PC Therapy Quick suggestions and reassurances are avoided
Empathy - Understanding another individual by "living" in their internal frame of reference
Person centered therapists believe that empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence are necessary and sufficient conditions for therapeutic change

35. Process of PC Therapy
Congruence - a correspondence between the thoughts and the behavior of a therapist
Client centered therapy focuses most heavily on the present
A successful person centered therapy outcome would be defined by the client's evaluation that therapy was beneficial

36. Therapist Role and Function
Function: to be present and accessible to clients, to focus on immediate experience, to be real in the relationship with clients
Through the therapist’s attitude of genuine caring, respect, acceptance, and understanding, clients become less defensive and more open to their experience and facilitate the personal growth

37. Therapist Role and Function
Role: Therapist’s attitude and belief in the inner resources of the client, not in techniques, facilitate personal change in the client
Use of self as an instrument of change
Focuses on the quality of the therapeutic relationship
Serves as a model of a human being struggling toward greater realness
Is genuine, integrated, and authentic
Can openly express feelings and attitudes that are present in the relationship with the client

38. Therapy Goals helping a person become a fully functioning person
Clients have the capacity to define their goals
an openness to experience
A trust in themselves
An internal source of evaluation
A willingness to continue growing

39. Client’s Experience in Therapy
Incongruence: discrepancy between self-perception and experience in realityanxietymotivation to help
As clients feel understood and accepted, their defensiveness is less necessary and they become more open to their experiences
Therapeutic relationship activates clients’ self-healing capacities

40. Relationship between Therapist and Client
Emphasizes the attitudes and personal characteristics of the therapist and the quality of therapeutic relationship.
Therapist listening in an accepting way to their clients, they learn how to listen acceptingly to themselves.

41. Relationship between Therapist and Client
A central variable related to progress in person-centered therapy is the relationship between therapist and client
A person-centered therapist is a facilitator

42. Therapeutic Techniques
It is not technique-oriented
The therapeutic relationship is the primary agent of growth in the client
Therapist’s presence: being completely engaged in the relationship with clients.
The best source of knowledge about the client is the individual client
Caring confrontations can be beneficial

43. Application
individual counseling, group counseling, businesses, international relations, community development education, marriage and family …
A variety of problems: anxiety, crisis intervention, interpersonal difficulties, depression, personality disorder…..

44. Contribution from a Multicultural Perspective
Contributions
Has reached more than 30 counties and has been translated to 12 languages
Reduction of racial and political tensions…
Limitations
Some people need more structure, coping skills, directedness
Some may focus on family or societal expectations instead of internal evaluation
May be unfamiliar with people in different cultures

45. Contribution of PC Therapy
Contributions
Active role of responsibility of client
Inner and subjective experience
Relationship-centered
Focus on therapist’s attitudes
Focus on empathy, being present, and respecting the clients’ values
Value multicultural context

46. Summary and Evaluation
Limitations
Discount the significance of the past
Misunderstanding the basic concept: e.g., reflecting feelings.
People in crisis situations often need more directive intervention strategies.
Client tend to expect a more structured approach.

47. Bozarth’s (1998) Summarization of Research on Psychotherapy
According to Bozarth's summarization of research on psychotherapy, the most consistent variables affecting therapy are empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence (genuineness)
Effective psychotherapy predicated on:
Relationship between therapist and client
Internal and external
Type of therapy, technique, training and experience of therapists are largely irrelevant
Clients who receive psychotherapy improve more than those who do not
Little support that specific treatments are best for particular issues
Most consistent variables related to effectiveness are empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard