The History of person Centred Counselling
The History of Person Centred Counselling
Person Centred Counselling was developed by Carl R. Rogers (1902-1987), a leading American psychologist who was along with Abraham Maslow a major theorist of Humanistic Therapy which developed in the 1950. It is sometimes called the third force distinct from psychoanalyzes and behaviourism. It proposed that therapy could be simpler, warmer and more optimistic and that the client himself has the solution to his difficulties and can access this deeper knowing through the counselling process. The word counselling is a little misleading in the classical sense of the term for this form of counselling discourages the practitioner from giving advice or counsel but rather requires that the counsellor enters into the phenomenological world of the client and with practice and skill aids the client in becoming more fluid, in the sense of becoming more in touch with their deeper feelings and more able to take responsibility for their own life and decisions.
The approach recognizes that human nature is on a continuous quest to actualize its full and unique potential if the required conditions are available, much like a growing plant.
“The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism” (Rogers, 1951, p. 487)
Carl R. Rogers was influenced by a wide variety of mentors, such as William H. Kilpatrick, and John Dewey who were considered progressive educators and reformers encouraging a less authoritarian approach to education. As well as Otto Rank, a leading psychologist who expanded on psychoanalytic theories and the value of emotions. He also delved into the organismic theory of Kurt Goldstein and the philosophical psychology of
Person Centred Counselling was developed by Carl R. Rogers (1902-1987), a leading American psychologist who was along with Abraham Maslow a major theorist of Humanistic Therapy which developed in the 1950. It is sometimes called the third force distinct from psychoanalyzes and behaviourism. It proposed that therapy could be simpler, warmer and more optimistic and that the client himself has the solution to his difficulties and can access this deeper knowing through the counselling process. The word counselling is a little misleading in the classical sense of the term for this form of counselling discourages the practitioner from giving advice or counsel but rather requires that the counsellor enters into the phenomenological world of the client and with practice and skill aids the client in becoming more fluid, in the sense of becoming more in touch with their deeper feelings and more able to take responsibility for their own life and decisions.
The approach recognizes that human nature is on a continuous quest to actualize its full and unique potential if the required conditions are available, much like a growing plant.
“The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism” (Rogers, 1951, p. 487)
Carl R. Rogers was influenced by a wide variety of mentors, such as William H. Kilpatrick, and John Dewey who were considered progressive educators and reformers encouraging a less authoritarian approach to education. As well as Otto Rank, a leading psychologist who expanded on psychoanalytic theories and the value of emotions. He also delved into the organismic theory of Kurt Goldstein and the philosophical psychology of
Bibliography: 1- Rogers, C .R. (1951) “Client Centred Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory”. Boston. Houghton Mifflin 2- Tony Merry (2002) “Learning and Being in Person Centred Counselling” PCCS Books. Ross- on- Wye UK 3- Barret –Lennard , G.T.(1993)The phases and focus of Empathy. British Journal of Medical Psychology,66 pp.3-14 4- Dave Mearns and Brian Thorne (1999) “Person Centred Counselling in Action” second edition Sage Publications London. Thousand Oaks. New Delhi 5- Isabel Gibbard and Terry Hanley(2008) Counselling and Psychotherapy research http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14733140802305440?journalCode=rcpr20#.UcF-hpzamj0