Carl Rogers Six Conditions Of Congruence For A Therapist
WHAT IS CONGRUENCE (for the therapist)
Of all the six conditions, it is believed that Carl Rogers considered condition three (reference Rogers 1957, conditions for therapeutic change) to be the most important.
He believed that the therapist’s skill in showing congruence was paramount in the therapeutic relationship and vital for the outcome of therapeutic change.
His philosophy was that although the therapist should not consider himself be more than an equal to the client or the one who holds the power, that in the moment of the therapeutic relationship, that he (the therapist) should be completely genuine in all that he is feeling and showing to the client.
There should be no attempt by the therapist to be anything other than himself, no false impression given, no attempt at hiding what he is feeling at that time and no barriers put up that may hinder the clients on progress on their own path to self-actualisation …show more content…
It is not a skill, and it is not a process, but it is a “way of being” that blends together with the other core conditions that provide the beginnings of psychological change. This “way of being” is an enabling factor in allow the therapist to offer both empathy and uncondition positive regard (S Haugh, Congruence: A confusion of Lanuage, Chapter 7)
Reflecting back to the days when Person-Centred therapy was in its infancy it appears that congruence was somewhat taken for granted, and something that came naturaly, it was as Rogers said “a way of being” (reference Rogers way of being, 19xx). However this has been challenged and been spoken of as an “inner and outer experience, where the therapist experiences a process within himself and this then has to be expressed by the outer self, only then can one be perceived as wholly genuine” (Lietar
Of all the six conditions, it is believed that Carl Rogers considered condition three (reference Rogers 1957, conditions for therapeutic change) to be the most important.
He believed that the therapist’s skill in showing congruence was paramount in the therapeutic relationship and vital for the outcome of therapeutic change.
His philosophy was that although the therapist should not consider himself be more than an equal to the client or the one who holds the power, that in the moment of the therapeutic relationship, that he (the therapist) should be completely genuine in all that he is feeling and showing to the client.
There should be no attempt by the therapist to be anything other than himself, no false impression given, no attempt at hiding what he is feeling at that time and no barriers put up that may hinder the clients on progress on their own path to self-actualisation …show more content…
It is not a skill, and it is not a process, but it is a “way of being” that blends together with the other core conditions that provide the beginnings of psychological change. This “way of being” is an enabling factor in allow the therapist to offer both empathy and uncondition positive regard (S Haugh, Congruence: A confusion of Lanuage, Chapter 7)
Reflecting back to the days when Person-Centred therapy was in its infancy it appears that congruence was somewhat taken for granted, and something that came naturaly, it was as Rogers said “a way of being” (reference Rogers way of being, 19xx). However this has been challenged and been spoken of as an “inner and outer experience, where the therapist experiences a process within himself and this then has to be expressed by the outer self, only then can one be perceived as wholly genuine” (Lietar