Bookk Review "Carl Rogers"

ON BECOMING A PERSON

BY

CARL R. ROGERS

PUBLISHED: by Constable, an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd-2004

CHAPTERS: 1-21 – DIVIDED 7 parts of the book.

STUDENT: Elisangela Da Silva

BOOK REVIEW 2 (words 1034)

ON BECOMING A PERSON

On Becoming a Person, by Carl Ransom Rogers, was published in 2004 by Constable & Robinson Ltd. Carl Rogers is best known as the founder of “client-centred”. This book is a classic in psychotherapy and it talks about the essential of the “core condition to the therapeutic relationship” approached on centred person and it is an excellent book for whoever is training as a counsellor or are interested on the psychological aspect of human being. Moreover, Rogers rests on his profound experiences based on many different relationships: as a patient, colleague, friend, and partner and with pupils. The route to personal growth, either to counsellor and counselee, requires empathic understanding, unconditional acceptance and congruence of genuineness. This book has been divided into seven parts with twenty one chapters in total.

Rogers describes the essential hypotheses concerning personal growth based on his own research as a well as on the clients’ experiences. Using empathic understanding, Rogers believes in an increase of trust in the counselling relationship which opens to a continual person development. Basis on his studies, empathic understanding approach must come along with genuineness which would be easily perceived by the client. Unconditional acceptance, for Rogers, is the willingness to see the world through the client’s eyes. Roger reminds us that the process of therapy occurs subjectively in both therapist and client.

Carl Rogers initially gave emphases to his own personal experiences in psychotherapy. Being on the counselee side, Rogers realizes how vital it is to have honest, respect and trust in a psychotherapy relationship and how this factor can promote “openness” and growth. In his own experiences he learned that being truthful about whom you are and being aware about your feelings during a session, bring effectiveness into the counselling. He truly believes and I totally agree that the counsellor must primarily be real to himself before being able to help anyone else.

Rogers describes this process of becoming a person as being a 'maximum of adaptability’, a discovery of structure in experience and changing of self and personality when encountering or facing stress and frustration. His purpose is to understand the way of the client feels in his inner world, in a way that the client experiences acceptance. Through this method, Roger also believes an objective research does not bring light into inter relationships and personality change. Up to this point, this scale process of becoming a person has already started, the client seems to be attempting to discover his true self, the masks start to fall off and he true self start to be perceived by both client and therapist.

Rogers is a huge influence in humanistic psychology and education, and as a philosopher his aim was to see each client moving into freedom and to have a view of good life. In The chapter entitled ' A Therapist's View of the Good Life' Rogers admits of being frightened by the fluid, relativistic, individualistic person who seems to be the logical outcome of the processes of therapy. However, he believes the essential aspects of the “Fully Functioning Person” which is specified 'Openness-factor' is emphasised as a polar opposite of defensiveness where the ego temporarily reduces threatening experiences inoffensive by distorting or denying them to awareness.

Rogers discusses his conflicts between the measure by objective scientific methods and subjective orientation existential. The scientific method might not have been so rigorously question but, it is remarkable to think how much Rogers's extraordinary introspective sensitivity was keenly honed for the inter-subjectivity of human. Consequently, through his research he took a non-directive approach as a ‘person centred’ in his theoretical rationale.

Roger theorised the interpersonal relationship as a core of the therapy. From his studies, he has discovered the importance of interpersonal communication. He also included the implication in intergroup which he identified as changes in relationships during the therapy. However, Rogers as scientist, talked about methodology of learning and teaching in implementing creativeness by observation. I am of the same opinion, that with his practical teachings and approaches on interpersonal relationship, the counselee will get be more aware of his feelings as a whole. Here is the sense of a man who had managed to find his own personal wholeness - 'on his becoming a person'.

Roger questioned the main philosophy of science ‘Skinner’s point of view; by criticizing unwillingness of psychologist to use their power by being manipulated by the client. For Roger this was an important debate with Skinner about freedom choice in the behavioural sciences. Rogers valued the judgements that had have always been existed previously to any scientific endeavour and he has seen it as prove proof keys to unlocking the man and his intellectual. In the last chapter, Rogers talks about the place of the individual in the new world of the behavioural sciences. He still been agreed by Skinner which he believes the behavioural sciences is to make man ‘productive’, ‘well-behaved’, it is evident that he is making a ‘capacity to choice. Nevertheless, Rogers encourages the human being with his capacity of subjective choice for freedom.

Reviewing Roger’s work I felt connected with the book as it was easy to understand. His literacy is vividly in a way that sometimes even hears the tone of his voice. Furthermore, I found the author wise in his conception by questioning himself every time someone tackled his theories. In addition, when he was unsure about of adequacy of his own documents he presented humbleness and honesty throughout the book. Even though some might find the book repetitive, the one interested in obtaining a deep understanding in this field will undoubtedly enjoy it. As result, this book prompted me to look inside myself and to match my feelings with my behaviour in order to show out congruency. I believe this book has inspired me to go deeper into the field of therapy and, I would like to read thoroughly the book in a near opportunity. Ro, essa palavra thoroughly faz sentido nessa frase.