Positive Regard

Unconditional Positive Regard is a central concept in the theories of Carl R. Rogers, both for psychotherapy and for interpersonal relations. A universal need for positive regard by others appears at about the same time a person begins to experience awareness of self (Rogers, 1959). In therapy, UPR is a quality of the therapist’s experience toward the client (p. 239). Rogers’ writing sheds light on various aspects of this construct:
Unconditional
One experiencing UPR holds ‘no conditions of acceptance . . . It is at the opposite pole from a selective evaluating attitude.’ (p. 225)
Positive
One offers ‘warm acceptance . . . a “prizing” of the person, as Dewey has used that term . . . It means a caring for the client . . . ’ (p. 225).
Regard
One regards ‘each aspect of the client’s experience as being part of that client . . . It means a caring for the client, but not in a possessive way or in such a way as simply to satisfy the therapist’s own needs. It means caring for the client as a separate person, with permission to have his [or her] own feelings, his [or her] own experiences.’ (p. 225)
Theoretically, the importance of UPR lies in its power to build up or restore the recipient’s unconditional positive self-regard.
Unconditional positive regard requires that a person be warm and accepting even when another person has done something questionable. While most parents attempt to give their children unconditional love, few grant their children unconditional positive regard. Many therapists advocate giving their clients unconditional positive regard as part of the therapeutic process. UPR is most notably associated with person-centered therapy, or Rogerian therapy.
Carl Rogers (1951) viewed the child as having two basic needs: positive regard from other people and self-worth.
How we think about ourselves, our feelings of self-worth are of fundamental importance both to psychological health and to the likelihood that we can achieve goals and ambitions in life