The Use of Person Centred Counselling in Guidance and Counselling Practice in Schools I think that it is accurate to say that the 'first wave' of guidance counsellors who received their counselling training in Ireland did so based largely on the theory and philosophy of counselling formulated by Carl Ransom Rogers (1902 - 1987), considered, by many, to be the most influential psychologist in American history. A leader in the humanistic psychology movement of the 1960's through the 1980's: more than any other individual he was responsible for the spread of professional counselling and psychotherapy beyond psychiatry and psychoanalysis to all the helping professions. He was one of the helping professions most prolific writers, authoring sixteen books and more than two hundred professional articles and research studies on the major new approach to psychotherapy which he pioneered, known successively as 'non-directive', 'client centred' and 'person centred' counselling. Nowadays pre-service and in-service counsellor training offers a much more varied approach to theory and practice. Nonetheless, it is timely to re-evaluate this theory which formed many of us as counsellors and to look with new eyes at what Rogers still has to offer us through his work.
Origins / Brief History Born in Oak Ridge, a small village on the outskirts of Chicago in 1902, Rogers had a very strict up-bringing which affected his initial choice of college study. At university, his interests and academic major changed from Agriculture to History, then to Religion and finally to Clinical Psychology when he enrolled for a degree in that area in Teachers College, Columbia University. Rogers received his doctorate in 1931, and in 1937 he published his first major book: The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child. His second, Counselling and Psychotherapy was published in 1942. Apart from its innovative ideas, what is most striking about this book is that over one third of it consisted of a transcript of electronically recorded sessions with a client called Herbert Byran. These recordings provided Rogers and his students with a unique opportunity to study therapeutic processes in detail. This willingness to lay bare the processes involved in counselling is a significant legacy of Rogers' who can be considered a pioneer in his insistence on subjecting the transcripts of therapy sessions to
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critical examination, and applying research technology to counsellor client dialogue. Rogers became an influential figure in psychotherapeutic circles, gaining respect as a therapist, theorist, researcher and author. In 1956, he received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award; the American Psychology Association's highest honour. He was also elected as the first President of the American Academy of Psychotherapy and was invited to be a visiting professor at a number of prestigious universities. Up to 1957 Rogers had used his approach with mildly disturbed or 'neurotic' individuals. At the University of Wisconsin, where he was now Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Roger's pioneering spirit made him explore the possibilities of using the client-centred approach, as it was then called, with more disturbed people including schizophrenics. In 1961, his book On Becoming a Person was published. At a time when interest was stirring in the rights of women, ethnic minorities and civil rights, the views expressed
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in his book, with its emphasis on helping individuals reach their full potential, meshed with those developments. By the Summer of 1963, Rogers had moved to La Jolla, California to become Resident Fellow of the Western Behavioural Sciences Institute. In 1968, with others, he formed the Centre for the Studies of the Person. During the last 15 years of his life he applied the personcentred approach to politics by training policy-makers, leaders and groups in conflict.
Influences Rogers' formative training in psychology was based on Behaviour Theory with a strong emphasis on psychological testing as a way to study and understand people. Later at the Institute for Child Guidance he was exposed to a very different school of thought. Here he was exposed to a dynamic psychoanalytic view but, most notably, Rogers was influenced by the views of Otho Rank. From him he took the emphasis on the therapeutic relationship and the idea of the therapist as 'supporter' rather than director. A pivotal case with a boy and his mother, when he left the direction of the session to the mother without attempting to interrupt, confirmed him in this new methodology; an approach which placed more emphasis on the feelings of the client; on the present rather than the past, and a greater reliance on the individual’s own will towards health. Above all he stressed the therapeutic relationship as the experience where growth can take place.
Brief Description of Therapy Person-centred therapy is one of the Humanistic approaches. Focusing on the 'here and now' and not on the childhood origins of the client's problems, Rogers’ theory emphasised the counsellor's creation of a permissive and non-
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interventionist climate in which the client is free to move at his own pace and in his own direction. Rogers' basic assumptions were that people were essentially trustworthy; that they have a vast potential for understanding themselves and resolving their own problem without direct intervention on their therapist's part: and that they are capable of self-directed growth if they are involved in a therapeutic relationship. From the beginning Rogers emphasised that the attitude, personal characteristics and quality of the therapist were the prime determinants of the successful outcomes of the therapeutic process. He consistently relegated to a secondary position matters such as the therapist's knowledge of theory and techniques.
KEY CONCEPTS
1. The Actualising Tendency Just as plants have an innate tendency to grow from a seed towards their full potential Rogers believed the same to be true of people. This he called the 'actualising tendency'. For human beings, however, it means more than just growth and survival: rather it is the creative fulfillment of the personality and the reduction in, or satisfaction of, physical and psychological needs. This strong drive continues throughout life as we move towards the fulfillment of all that it is possible for us to achieve and become. None of us ever lives long enough to know our full potential. We are always in a state of 'being and becoming'. Rogers believed that the 'actualising tendency' is the only motive needed to account for all our behaviour, whether to fill an empty stomach, to produce children or to become independent and happy.
2. The Organismic Valuing Process In order to satisfy the actualising tendency, we need to know what is
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of value to that growth. This ability to weigh up and to value experiences positively/negatively is the 'organismic valuing process'. All humanistic psychologists tend to focus on the whole person rather than isolating different processes such as behaviour, thoughts or feelings. If we listen to our 'organismic valuing process' we will know what will help us move towards our potential. Difficulties can occur in both our abilities to weigh up and to value experiences and also in our efforts to fulfill our creative potential. If a persons overwhelming need for positive regard from others is not met or is conditional upon 'good behaviour' then the person may internalise the values and beliefs proffered by others. Cut off from their own sense of worth and value individuals continuously strive for the unconditional positive regard they feel they need. They fail and a vicious cycle begins. They begin to behave as others perceive them. Thus the person ceases to trust their organismic valuing process and their personal growth is stunted.
3.
Internal Frame Reference
of
A person's subjective world, consisting of all memories, sensations, perceptions and meanings that are available to consciousness is sometimes referred to as the 'internal frame of reference'. In order to understand the behaviour of another person it is necessary to get as close as possible to an understanding of their world or to see the world through their eyes. Striving to 'walk in the client's shoes' and moving away from an 'external frame of reference' of judging, advising, preaching or moralising is an important task for the personcentred counsellor.
4. Distinctive Features of Therapy The person-centered approach claims that the personal qualities of
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the therapist are more important than degrees or qualifications. It regards as essential that individuals realise that they can trust their own experiencing and the validity of their own perceptions. Rogers asserted that if certain necessary conditions are present then changes will occur in the client and the process of growth can take place. Rogers listed what he regarded as 'the necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change' (Rogers, 1957: 95): 1. 2.
3.
4. 5.
6.
Two persons are in psychological contact. The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable and anxious. The second person, whom we shall term the therapist, is congruent or integrated in the relationship. The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client. The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the client's internal frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client. The communication to the client of the therapist's empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved.
Goals of Therapy Since the person-centred counsellor believes that psychological difficulties are caused in the main by blockages of the actualising tendency, the main goal of counselling is to release the individual from any constraints or restrictions. If successful, the client is enabled to explore in safety their inner experiences, long denied or distorted, which are inconsistent with their self-concept. There is no final result or end state; rather, a continuing process of change which will hopefully continue after counselling has ended. Such progress towards becoming 'a fully
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functioning person' would manifest itself in the person being open to experience, having a clear idea of the path to their own fulfillment; being able to trust their ability to know what is good and bad for their own development; accepting themselves for who and what they are and not only on the opinion of others; and accepting responsibility for their own behaviour.
Counsellor Attitudes in Counselling Counsellor attitudes are considered to be of paramount importance in facilitating the relationship. Throughout his professional life, Rogers maintained that there are three counsellor attributes which release a growth - promoting climate in which individuals could move forward and become what they are capable of becoming. These are congruence, empathy and unconditional positive regard. 1.
Congruence
Congruence means that the counsellor's outward responses match their inner awareness and feelings; that they are genuine, real, open, authentic and transparent. Rogers stressed that congruence is not a question of the counsellor blurting out compulsively every passing feeling; rather it is a state of being. Feelings only are to be expressed when they are persistent and of great strength and when communication of them assists the therapeutic process. Result: Endeavouring to be so open the counsellor acts as a role model sending the message that it’s ok to feel and communicate feelings. In order to develop and maintain congruence counsellors need to constantly work at being aware of their underlying feelings and also to realise the importance of having supervision and working on their own personal growth. 2.
Empathy
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Empathy is the process of understanding another person 'as if you were that person but without ever losing the 'as if' quality'. Rogers described it as a way of 'laying aside our own views and values in order to enter another's world without prejudice. A Way of Being (Rogers '43). If the 'as if' quality is lost then the process can become one of identification whereby the counsellor is no longer understanding the event from the client's frame of reference but rather from their own experience of a similar event. Result: Research has shown clearly that when clients' experience their counsellors as deeply empathic they are helped to explore their inner selves more profoundly and change is more likely to occur; alienated clients also feel more connected and less isolated. 3. Unconditional Positive Regard Unconditional positive regard on the part of the counsellor means that the counsellor offers the person respect, acceptance (it does not have to be approval) caring and appreciation regardless of the client's attitude or behaviour. Rogers often used the word 'prizing' to convey the meaning of this condition. Result: This condition is important because it undermines the clients' beliefs that they are only valued if they behave as required by significant others. There is no longer any need for the client to shy away from aspects of his inner self which may be painful or shameful because he learns that it is possible to be truly himself and still be accepted. O'Leary '82 in the only Irish and international longitudinal study of adolescents who received personcentred counselling from guidance counsellors lasting one year indicated that empathy was the most significant condition offered.
Advantages Of PersonCentred Counselling
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• • •
• •
•
Person-centred counselling deals with the here and now. It recognises and values the whole person. It encourages people to believe that they have potential, which with the counsellors help may be recognised and developed. It fosters greater self-reliance within the person. It is a particularly safe model of counselling because it emphasises staying with clients as opposed to getting ahead of them with interpretations, advice or judgements. It encourages the selfdevelopment of the counsellor.
Disadvantages Of PersonCentred Counselling • •
• • •
The process of counselling may be quite lengthy. It may place too much emphasis on the person of the counsellor and on their ability to provide the necessary conditions for change and growth. It may not place enough emphasis on problem solving techniques. It has been described as 'too simple'. Some critics say that personcentred counselling uses a limited repertoire of techniques, such as attending, listening and reflecting are used.
References Axline, Virginia, DBS, In Search of Self, Victor Gallarez, 1966. Dryden, Windy & Mytton, Jill, Four Approaches to Counselling & Psychotherapy. London & New York: Routledge, 1999. Kirschenbaum, H and Henderson, V.L (Eds.) (1990) The Carl Rogers Reader. London: Constable. Merry, Tony and Lusty, Bob, What is Person-Centered Counselling? A
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Personal and Practical Guide. Essex: Gale Centre Publications, 1993. O’Leary, E. The Psychology of Counselling. Cork: Cork University Press (1982) in second printing. O’Leary, E. and Keane N. PersonCentered Therapy in P. Hawkins and I. Nesteros Perspectives in Psychology (1997) Athens: Ellinka Grammata. Rogers, C.R. Measuring Personality Adjustment in Children Nine to Thirteen Years of Age. New York: Teachers College, 1931. Rogers, C.R. The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1939. Rogers, C.R. Counselling and Psychotherapy: New Concepts in Practice. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942. Rogers, C.R. Counselling with Returned Servicemen. Washington, DC: United Services Organisations, 1945. Rogers, C.R. Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory. Constable, 1965. Rogers, C.R. On Becoming a Person. Constable, 1974. Rogers, C.R. Client-Centered Therapy, Film No.1 in E. Shostrom (Ed.). Three Approaches to Psychotherapy. Three 16mm colour motion pictures. Orange, CA: Psychological Films, Inc., 1965. Rogers, C.R. Freedom to Learn: A View of What Education Might Become. Columbus. OH: Charles Merrill, 1969. Rogers, C.R. Carl Rogers on Encounter Groups. New York: Harper and Row, 1970. Rogers, C.R. Becoming Partners: Marriage and Its Alternatives. Constable, 1973.
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Rogers, C.R. Carl Rogers on Personal Power: Inner Strength and Its Revolutionary Impact. Constable, 1978. Rogers, C.R. A Way of Being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. Rogers, C.R. Freedom to Learn in the 80s. Columbus, OH: Charles Merrill, 1983. Rogers, C.R. and Dymond. R. (Eds.). Psychotherapy and Personality Change. Chicago: University press, 1954. Rogers, C.R., Gendlin, E.T., Kiesler, D.J., and Truax, C.B. (Eds.). The Therapeutic Relationship and Its Impact: A Study of Psychotherapy with Schizophrenics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967. Rogers, C.R. and Skinner, B.F. Some issues concerning the control of human behaviour. Science, Volume 124, No. 3231, November 1956, 1057-1066. Rogers, C.R. and Stevens. B. Person to Person: The Problem of Being Human. Lafayette, CA: Real People Press, 1968. Thorne, Brian. Key Figures in Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage Publications, 2000.
Bibliography Address List Associations The British Association for Person-Centered Approach BM BAPCA, London WC1N 3XX Web: http://www.bapca.org.uk
the
BACP House, 35-37 Albert Street, Rugby, Warkwickshire, CV212SG Web: www.bacp.co.uk The Association for Humanistic Psychology Box BCM AHPP, London WC1N 3XX Web: http://www.ahpp.org/index.htm The Facilitator Development Institute c/o Mhairi Macmillan Student Counselling Centre University of St. Andrews College gate, St. Andrews Fyfe, Scotland KY16 6AJ The Person-Centered Approach Network 109 Rupert St. Norwich, NR2 2AU Web: http://www.pcan.info/ The Association for Person-Centered Therapy in Scotland 40 Kelvingrove St. Glasgow, G3 7RZ Web: http://www.pctscotland.co.uk Person–Centered Art Therapy Centre c/o Liesl Silverstone 17 Cranbourne Gardens London NW11 0HN Journals Person-Centered Practice 255 Coventry road Ilford Essex IG1 4RF The Person-Centered Journal Aderhold 402 University of Georgia Athens Ga. 30602 USA
Association for the Development of the Person-Centered Approach Box 6881, San Carlos CA 94070-6881 USA Web: http://www.adpca.org/index.html
Self and Society 18 Lower St. Stroud Gloucestershire GL5 2HT
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Counselling (Journal of the ABS+C) 1 Regents Place Rugby
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Warwickshire CV21 2PJ The Journal of Humanistic Psychology (Subscriptions) Sage Publications 6 Bonhill St. London EC2A 4PU
Training Courses In Ireland All general counselling training courses include person-centred theory and training as part of their course content. However, the Department of Applied Psychology of NUI, Cork offers courses from the Humanistic perspective of PersonCentred and Gestalt counselling psychology. These are: 1. 2.
M.A. Degree in Counselling Psychology Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling
The Author Breeda Coyle B.A. M.Ed is a guidance counsellor in Mount Temple Comprehensive, Dublin. A former President and now Fellow of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, she trained as a Reality Therapist and holds a Diploma in Individual Psychology from the Irish Institute of Adlerian Counselling and Psychology. She also works as a counselling supervisor and tutor on the NUI Certificate Foundation in Counselling Skills.
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